Betrayal: Baalu slams Cong for severing ties with DMK

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi reached out to DMK chief M K Stalin and TVK’s C Joseph Vijay after the results as Congress sought to manage state-level realignments while maintaining the broader anti-BJP platform.

Political observers warned that the rupture could dent bloc cohesion and make regional partners wary of whether Congress is prioritising its own electoral calculus over alliance arithmetic.

DMK leaders branded the move as backstabbing. AICC spokesman Pawan Khera defended the realignment by recalling the 2013 break with Congress and arguing that likeminded parties can form a government if possible. Su Thirunavukkarasar questioned whether the INDIA bloc remains viable, saying focus would be on the INDIA bloc after this development.

Congress ends its 11-year partnership with DMK and pledges support of Congress’s five MLAs to TVK chief C Joseph Vijay. AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar met TVK leader Vijay and stated that the Congress-TVK alliance will continue for local body polls and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The move redraws Tamil Nadu’s political map and weakens the INDIA bloc’s bid for a united front against the BJP. The Congress frames the shift as an effort to keep communal forces away, while acknowledging debates within the INDIA bloc.

TVK was formed in 2024, as referenced in the article describing the subsequent alignment with Congress.

The article recalls that the DMK and Congress broke their alliance in 2013, cited by AICC spokesman Pawan Khera to contextualize the current realignment.

Karur MP S Jothimani said the party took a political stand for the welfare of the people and urged mutual respect between allies, avoiding harsh words.

Senior Congress MP Manickam Tagore stated that the people’s verdict has gone against the DMK government and argued the party should align to stop BJP from ruling Tamil Nadu.

Following the announcement, Congress workers and supporters burst firecrackers at the party state headquarters Satyamurthi Bhavan in Chennai.

Girish Chodankar said the Congress would not just provide outside support and would be part of the new government, stressing that the people’s mandate is supreme.

TR Baalu, DMK treasurer, accused the Congress of betraying the people who voted for them, calling the move a betrayal and comparing it to shortcut methods used by other parties to grab power.

The AICC issued a letter of support to TVK to assist in forming the government.

Girish Chodankar, Congress Tamil Nadu in-charge, along with state unit chief K Selvaperunthagai and five newly elected legislators, called on Vijay at the TVK party office and handed over a letter of support to form the government.

Hours after Congress severed its decades-long alliance with the DMK to join hands with TVK to form a government in Tamil Nadu, signaling a realignment ahead of government formation.

In the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly elections, Vijay’s TVK won 108 seats; DMK won 59 and AIADMK 47. The majority mark was 118 seats.

The DMK and Congress revived their alliance in 2016 after a period of separation.

The DMK parted ways with the UPA in 2013 after being part of the alliance since 2004.

The DMK became part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments from 2004.

The DMK and Congress joined hands for the first time in 1971, establishing a long-running alliance in Tamil Nadu politics.