Congress severs ties with DMK in Tamil Nadu to support TVK

CHENNAI: Congress severed its ties with DMK and joined hands with TVK on Wednesday, marking the widest crack in INDIA bloc. AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar, Praveen Chakravarthy and TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai, met TVK president Vijay and extended support of the party's five MLAs to him. Chodankar said the Congress-TVK alliance will continue for the upcoming local body election and Lok Sabha election in 2029.

Congress walking away from DMK alliance may partially solve TVK's problem, but may throw up new ones for the grand old party. To start with, the party's stand would weaken INDIA bloc's message of a united opposition to BJP at the national level.

Despite a history of rift and reconciliation, DMK has remained one of Congress's ideologically aligned allies. DMK rose to power in 1967 by dislodging Congress. The ties worsened during the Emergency in 1975, when several DMK leaders, including M K Stalin, were arrested. Yet, the two parties came together again in 1980, only to part ways four years later. In 2004, DMK and Congress revived their partnership which lasted till 2013. The alliance was revived in 2015 and expanded into a larger national framework with the formation of the INDIA bloc, to take on BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The break in ties now would signal that the INDIA bloc was a fragmented coalition, say political analysts. The rift would allow BJP to label INDIA bloc as opportunistic. "Congress adopted a high-handed attitude with allies, which triggered problems with SP and AAP. This trend will weaken the united opposition to BJP in 2029," said political commentator Suguna Diwakar. DMK men say Congress's decision would send a message to other regional allies that it will prioritise its own political gain over the alliance's common goal. Such a message, especially after a poll defeat, would make Congress allies elsewhere cautious and complicate the alliance, say political observers.

"As a saving grace, Congress could bring TVK into INDIA bloc. In that case, the character of the alliance would also change," Diwakar said. Congress, however, is unfazed. "Is the INDIA bloc still alive," asked a senior Congress leader, pointing out that there were frictions between Congress, TMC and AAP.

"We are uncertain about numbers required for forming the govt in TN. We will focus onthe bloc after this," said Su Thirunavukkarasar.