Tamil Nadu Assembly election 2026: DMK president Stalin offers only five seats, CPI (M) seeks more time to discuss

On a day when Tamilaga Vazhurimai Katchi leader T. Velmurugan exited the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu, the CPI(M) left a small window of opportunity open on Sunday (March 22, 2026) afternoon, saying it would revisit the DMK’s offer of only five seats for the upcoming Assembly elections on April 23. 

CPI (M) State secretary P. Shanmugam told journalists in Chennai, his party had met DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to explain its State Committee’s decision to contest in six seats.

“But the Chief Minister has asked us to accept five seats, as new parties have joined the alliance. We will again discuss the Chief Minister’s suggestion in our State Secretariat meeting and convey our decision to him,” Mr. Shanmugam said after meeting Mr. Stalin.

The CPI(M) secretariat meeting is likely to be held on Sunday evening or Monday (March 23).

He said the State Committee and Secretariat meetings held on Saturday (March 21) had decided there was no need to increase the stake beyond six. The party’s general secretary, M.A. Baby, attended the meeting.

Mr. Shanmugam said the Chief Minister had explained to the CPI(M) seat-sharing committee the difficulties in parting with more seats.

“CPI(M) would like to continue in the DMK alliance. But, the Chief Minister has asked us to settle for five. However, the mandate of the CPI(M) State Committee is for six seats. We have told him we cannot come to a conclusion immediately. The Chief Minister wants us to take a favourable decision,” he said.

Asked whether the meeting would serve any purpose, since both sides were firm on their stands, Mr. Shanmugam said, though both parties had been holding talks, a meeting with the Chief Minister had taken place only now. “As he has requested us, we have to respect his words and hold further talks,” he said.

Mr. Shanmugam said the Chief Minister himself had explained the difficulties arising from the allocation of three additional seats to the Indian National Congress and the inclusion of more parties in the alliance. “There is no secrecy in the talks. They are transparent,” he added.

To a question on whether the numbers were reduced because the CPI(M) had won only two seats last time, he said the party was not allotted constituencies where it had a strong base, including in Kanniyakumari, Tiruppur, and Coimbatore. “Had we been allotted seats in these districts, we would have won all six. There were many reasons that contributed to our defeat,” he said.

Mr. Shanmugam said the priority was to finalise seat-sharing, and the question of preferred constituencies would be discussed later.

“I cannot answer presumptive questions,” he said when asked what the party’s stand would be if the State Committee did not agree.

Asked whether the party would demand seats in Chennai, he said Chennai was also part of Tamil Nadu.