DMK to skip INDIA bloc meet over Congress ‘betrayal’
Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has decided to skip the INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for 8 June in New Delhi, it said in a statement Thursday. The decision comes in the wake of its fallout with the Congress over the latter parting ways with the DMK to join the government led by Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
The Congress, after the declaration of assembly election results on 4 May, had extended support to the TVK. DMK leaders condemned the move as “betrayal” and “backstabbing”, accusing their long-time ally of abandoning a decades-old partnership for political gains.
The TVK government offered Congress two Cabinet berths and a Rajya Sabha seat, which gives the Congress space to strengthen its political presence in the state.
Leaders of INDIA bloc, of which both the Congress and DMK are constituents, last met in June 2024 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The agenda of the latest meeting, scheduled for 8 June, is to chalk out a stratagem against the BJP-led NDA government.
Key opposition leaders expected to attend the meeting include Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC’s Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.
However, DMK’s absence adds to the challenges for the INDIA bloc.
DMK’s T.K.S. Elangovan told news agency ANI Thursday that the party is no longer a part of the INDIA bloc. “The Congress said they are going with TVK and they will fight the local body elections and the next parliamentary elections also with TVK. This means they are not with us. The Congress stated that they are parting ways with the DMK. Which means how can we continue in the INDIA bloc? That is why we said we are not going,” he said.
The DMK, however, is yet to formally announce its withdrawal from the INDIA bloc.
Talking to ThePrint, DMK spokesperson Dr S.A.S. Hafeezullah said Thursday, “We were co-founders of the INDIA bloc and post-poll behaviour of the Congress has made it impossible to work along with the party. However, we will abide by the decisions of the non-Congress members of the alliance and we will continue to fight the communal forces in the state.”
DMK has played a prominent role in the Congress-led INDIA bloc, openly advocating Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the formation. However, post-poll realignments in Tamil Nadu triggered sharp reactions from DMK leaders.
DMK MP Kanimozhi had even formally requested separate seating arrangements for DMK MPs in the Lok Sabha, citing changed political circumstances.
DMK’s decision to skip the INDIA bloc meeting signals a major setback to the formation, especially when it is already grappling with internal contradictions such as the Aam Aadmi Party’s public distancing and turmoil within Trinamool Congress. Political observers added that the Congress-DMK rift may complicate future alliances in Tamil Nadu.
DMK, now in opposition in Tamil Nadu, may look to consolidate its Dravidian base independently or explore new alliance options.
Political analyst Arun Kumar told ThePrint, “The INDIA bloc is anyway dysfunctional in most of the states in India. It was only functional in Tamil Nadu and effective, mainly because DMK was holding them together. But, now there is no possibility for that now. However, DMK will maintain its anti-BJP stance in Tamil Nadu and there will be no change in that.”
So far, TVK has not received any invitation to join the INDIA bloc.
(Edited by Shubhanker Tripathi)
Also Read: ‘Opportunism’ or ‘survival’? Congress & its revolving door of alliances in Tamil Nadu over decades
