INDIA Bloc Cracks In Tamil Nadu, Congress Snaps Ties With DMK To Join Vijay With Power Sharing

· Free Press Journal

Chennai: In a development that signalled not just the cracking of the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu but also the likely formation of the State’s first coalition government, the Congress on Wednesday snapped ties with the DMK to join forces with actor C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to form the next government. 

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Announcing the unilateral separation of ties with its long-term southern ally, AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, in a press release said, “this alliance — founded on mutual respect, appropriate share, and shared responsibility between the two parties — is not only for the formation of this government, but also for future elections to the local body organisations, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.”

“Mr. Vijay and Shri Rahul Gandhi jointly pledge to respect this historic verdict of the people of Tamil Nadu for a secular and progressive government, and to fulfil the dreams and promises of the people — especially the youth of Tamil Nadu,” he said. 

The Congress and DMK had together fought successive elections since 2004 – barring the 2014 parliamentary polls. Strains between the allies had emerged during the seat-sharing talks for the recent Assembly elections that cast a shadow on the erstwhile “brotherly” bond between DMK leader M K Stalin and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. 

Chodankar said, TVK president Vijay, formally requested the Indian National Congress to extend its support for forming a government. The TVK is short of numbers to form the next Government in the 234-member Assembly but emerged as the largest single party with 108 seats.

“The people of Tamil Nadu, especially the youth, have delivered a very clear, strong and overwhelming verdict for a secular, progressive and welfarist government that believes in constitutional principles,” he said adding they have chosen the TVK to form the next government.

“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. Accordingly, 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,” he said. 

The support “shall be conditional upon the TVK keeping out from this alliance any communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution of India.”

This alliance will strive to bring back Kamaraj’s “glory days” of Tamil Nadu, with a strong commitment to Periyar’s social justice ideals and Dr. B R Ambedkar’s constitutional ideals in the years and decades to come, he added. 

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