DMK Lists Congress' 9 Seats Days After Sealing Poll Deal In Tamil Nadu

The ruling DMK today named the nine seats in Tamil Nadu it allotted to the Congress. The Congress will also be contesting the lone seat in neighbouring Puducherry.

The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases during April-June and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will vote in a single phase on April 19. The votes will be counted on June 4.

The DMK has replaced three seats from the Congress's 2019 list. Instead of Trichy, Theni, and Arani, the Congress has been allotted Cuddalore, Tirunelveli, and Mayiladuthurai this time.

The Trichy seat has been given to the MDMK from where party founder Vaiko's son Durai would contest.

The Congress had lost the Theni seat to the AIADMK last time despite the DMK alliance sweeping other 38 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone segment in Puducherry.

The DMK has allotted the Ramanathapuram seat to the IUML, Namakkal to the KDMK, Dindigul and Madurai to the CPM, Nagapattinam, and Tiruppur to the CPI, and Chidambaram and Villupuram to the VCK.

The MK Stalin-led party is likely to contest the remaining 21 seats.

The AIADMK, which has snapped all ties with the BJP, is holding talks with the PMK and late actor Vijayakanth's DMDK for a possible tie-up. Puthiya Thamizhagam, which was earlier in the NDA fold, too has switched to the AIADMK-led alliance.

The BJP, which has a negligible presence in the state, sealed the deal with the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). Sources say the party will get ten Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha berth.

Sources say the BJP might field Tamilisai Soundararajan - who resigned as governor of Telangana today - from either Tamil Nadu or Puducherry

GK Vasan's Tamil Maanila Congress and a few smaller parties have already joined the BJP camp. The party is also trying to woo the DMDK.

The BJP is left without major allies in the state after AIADMK walked out of the NDA alliance last year.

It is counting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frequent visits and state chief K Annamalai's padayatra for electoral gains in the state.