The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) on March 18, Monday said it would contest nine seats during the upcoming general elections in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry. Three out of the nine seats in Tamil Nadu are based on a seat-sharing pact with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), are new seats. The seat sharing pact for 10 seats including Puducherry was signed on March 9 by DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin and TNCC president K SelvaPerunthagai.
A TNCC press statement said the party is contesting in Thiruvallur (Reserved constituency), Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, Krishnagiri, Karur, Virudhunagar and Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu. It would also contest the lone Lok Sabha seat in Puducherry Union Territory.
Mayiladuthurai, Tirunelveli, and Cuddalore are the new seats they would contest this time. The constituencies of Theni, Arani, and Tiruchirappalli where the party contested last time have been dropped. In the Tiruchirappalli constituency, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), an ally of the ruling DMK, would contest.
Tamil Nadu would go to polls on April 19, as part of the first phase of seven-phase general elections. The nomination starts on March 20. The last date to file a nomination is March 27 while the last date for withdrawal of nomination is March 30. The results will be announced on June 4.
Tamilisai Soundararajan resigns as Governor; to contest in Lok Sabha polls
In the 2019 general elections, Congress contested nine seats in Tamil Nadu. The party won eight seats and lost in the Theni constituency, where veteran Congress leader EVKS Elangovan was the candidate. In the last general elections, the party secured 12.9% of the votes and became the third party in Tamil Nadu to have the major vote share after DMK (33.2%) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (18.7%).