DMK forms committee for seat-sharing talks ahead of TN Assembly polls, party treasurer TR Baalu to lead

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 21 (ANI): The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Saturday constituted a committee to hold discussions with alliance parties regarding seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections.
In a statement, DMK General Secretary Durai Murugan announced that the party headquarters has set up a panel to conduct negotiations with its allies as part of early preparations for the upcoming polls.
The committee will be chaired by party Treasurer TR Baalu. Other members of the panel include Principal Secretary KN Nehru, Deputy General Secretaries Tiruchi Siva and A Raja, Organising Secretary RS Bharathi, and High-Level Executive Committee members EV Velu and MRK Panneerselvam.
The formation of the committee comes as the DMK begins groundwork for the 2026 Assembly elections. The panel is expected to engage with alliance partners to finalise seat allocations and strengthen coordination ahead of the polls.
Further discussions with allies are likely to take place in the coming months as political activities gradually intensify in the state, the statement further read.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday projected confidence ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, stating that the DMK government will return to power for the second consecutive term.
During the debate on the Interim Budget in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Friday, Stalin reflected on his government's five-year journey and outlined his vision for the future.
Addressing the House, the Chief Minister said, "The 'Dravidian Model 2.0' government that we are going to form will surpass even our own achievements. We will win again. We will form the government again."
Meanwhile, the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls in the first half of 2026. In the 2021 polls, the DMK won 133 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress won 18, PMK won 5, VCK won 4, and others won 8.
The AIADMK won 66 seats in the elections. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by DMK, which consisted of Congress, won 159 seats collectively, while the NDA won 75 seats. (ANI)