MNM–DMK seat talks heat up

The executive and working committees of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) held a meeting at the party’s headquarters in Alwarpet, with party founder and leader Kamal Haasan presiding over the deliberations.

The meeting focused on MNM's electoral strategy, particularly seat-sharing negotiations with its ally, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), ahead of the next Tamil Nadu Assembly elections scheduled for 2026.

Founded in 2018 by Kamal Haasan, MNM has had a limited electoral record so far.

The party contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections independently in all 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu but failed to win a single seat, securing around 0.40 per cent of the total vote share. In the 2021 Assembly elections, MNM again went solo, fielding candidates in 180 constituencies.

While it did not register any victories, its vote share increased to 2.62 per cent, indicating a modest expansion of its support base, particularly in urban pockets.

In a strategic shift, MNM joined hands with the DMK-led alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Although the party was not allotted any constituencies to contest, the alliance accommodated MNM by facilitating a Rajya Sabha seat, making Kamal Haasan a Member of Parliament.

Against this backdrop, the meeting assumes significance. According to sources, MNM leaders discussed the number of Assembly seats the DMK might be willing to concede to its ally and assessed constituencies where the party believes it has realistic winning prospects. MNM is said to have prepared a tentative list of 15 constituencies it would prefer to contest.

These reportedly include Coimbatore South, Coimbatore North, Singanallur, Velachery, Mylapore, Maduravoyal, Ambattur, Tambaram, Sholinganallur, Koundampalayam, Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli East, Madurai Central, Alandur and Thyagarayanagar -- mostly urban and semi-urban seats where MNM has previously recorded relatively better vote shares.

However, alliance-level discussions suggest that the DMK leadership may be inclined to allocate only three Assembly seats to MNM. As part of the broader campaign strategy, it has also been decided that Kamal Haasan will be deployed extensively across Tamil Nadu as a star campaigner for the alliance, leveraging his statewide recognition and appeal. Formal seat-sharing talks between the DMK and MNM are expected to intensify in the coming months.