The delay in finalising seat-sharing in Tamil Nadu Assembly election has cast a shadow over the Congress-DMK alliance in Puducherry with the Dravidian major deciding to contest in three Assembly constituencies in Karaikal region.
However, uncertainty surrounding seat-sharing negotiations between the DMK and the Congress in Tamil Nadu has stalled parallel discussions in the Union Territory creating unease within the alliance.
Karaikal district has five Assembly segments. The DMK holds two of them — Karaikal South and Neravy–T.R. Pattinam. Senior DMK leaders and MLAs from Puducherry told The Hindu that the party intends to add Karaikal North to its list. “This will strengthen the party’s organisational presence in Karaikal and give us greater momentum ahead of the elections,” a senior DMK functionary said.
However, party sources attributed the delay in formalising seat-sharing arrangements in Puducherry to the ongoing stalemate in negotiations between the DMK and the Congress in Tamil Nadu. “There is discomfort over how the talks are progressing there and that has had a direct impact here,” a Puducherry DMK leader said.
A former Leader of the Opposition in Puducherry and a senior DMK leader said the political dynamics in the Union Territory made coordination between the two parties inevitable. “Puducherry has smaller constituencies and the DMK and the Congress are interdependent. Neither can function effectively without the other,” he said and added that the Congress had begun organisational work in constituencies won by the DMK as a precautionary measure.
