LS Polls 2024: Congress finalises seat sharing with DMK, to contest 9 seats in Tamil Nadu

The Congress has finalised seat-sharing with MK Stalin's DMK for the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu. Out of 39 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress will contest 9 seats including Sivaganga, a stronghold of senior leader P Chidambaram.

The grand old party will also contest the Puducherry Lok Sabha constituency.In the last election, the Congress had fought on 9 seats and bagged 8. The DMK, on the other hand, contested 20 and won all of them. Overall, the opposition alliance swept the state by winning 38 of 39 seats.  

This time, the Congress will contest from Karuru, Kanyakumari, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, and Virudhunagar. 

The Congress and DMK are part of the INDIA alliance, a coalition of 20-plus parties to take on the BJP.

MDMK MP Vaiko said his party has entered into an agreement with the DMK. He said his party will contest the Trichy constituency. "At 3:30 pm today we will announce the candidate."

Meanwhile, Tamilisai Soundararajan has resigned as Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. The former BJP president in Tamil Nadu is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the state, sources told India Today. Sources said Soundararajan is likely to be named in the BJP's third list of candidates, which is expected soon.

She might either contest the polls from either North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, or the Chennai South seat, the sources added. Soundararajan has criticised the DMK government in Tamil Nadu in the recent past.

In December 2023, she slammed the DMK over the massive floods in Tamil Nadu, saying the state government "should have taken proper precautionary measures", but failed to deal with the situation.