Congress ditches DMK, allies with Vijay's TVK in Tamil Nadu; Stalin's party call it betrayal for INDIA bloc

Congress, the long-time ally of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has switched sides to Tamailaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to “work for the people of Tamil Nadu.” Tamil Nadu Congress leaders meet Vijay and felicitated him at the TVK Headquarters in Chennai. Reacting to the development, DMK's spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai has called the decision "myopic" and accused Rahul Gandhi-led party of having "backstabbed" INDIA alliance partners. With Congress' backing TVK's total tally becomes 111. Vijay has also reached out to the Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI (M), a constituent of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), seeking support to form the government. The CPI, VCK and CPI (M) won two seats each.

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Congress extends support to Vijay's TVK

Tamil Nadu Congress has extended letter of support to Vijay's TVK. In the letter, it said that Vijay formally requested the Indian National Congress (INC) to extend its support for forming a government in Tamil Nadu. It said that the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has decided to extend its full support to the TVK to form the government. As a condition, Congress has said that TVK should not ally with “any communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution of India.” It said, “The Indian National Congress stands for, and is the founding political party for, secular, progressive and welfarist politics in India. It is our constitutional duty to respect, uphold and help fulfil this mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu. This alliance between the TVK and the Tamil Nadu Congress will strive to bring back Perunthalaivar Kamaraj's glory days of Tamil Nadu, with a strong commitment to Thanthai Periyar's social justice ideals and Dr. BR Ambedkar's constitutional ideals in the years and decades to come."

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What DMK said?

Speaking to press, Saravanan Annadurai said, “I think this is a very short-sighted, myopic stand taken by the Congress, which they will regret. The 2029 big elections are coming, where we were very confident that we will be able to remove the BJP. But now, because of this decision by the Congress, it has made them a very unstable partner. The perception that is out in the entire country is that Congress cannot be trusted.” He added, "Congress has offered its support to the TVK, and that is why we called it backstabbing... The Congress has decided to flip sides and support the TVK, and the reasons cited by them are not convincing. They say they want to keep the BJP and the RSS at bay, and that is why this call should be made... This is a full-hearted decision by the Congress, which is likely to send ripples across the country in the sense that there are other alliance partners. If Congress is going to be so untrustworthy, just within a day of the results, they are openly going against the mandate. What impact will it create in the minds of Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray and all the others? We have never failed the Congress," he added.

Resort politics in Tamil Nadu

Vijay has moved TVK MLAs in a private luxury resort in Mamallapuram. Over 50 MLAs are currently staying at the Four Points Star hotel in Poonjeri, Mamallapuram, and more TVK MLAs are expected to arrive through the day. To ensure security, a heavy police presence has been deployed around the resort, with increased surveillance in place.