Reacting to reports that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) are considering an alliance to form the government in Tamil Nadu, the Congress on Friday lambasted MK Stalin's party and said the grand old party had seen the "writing on the wall clearly".
In a post on micro-blogging website X (formerly Twitter), Congress MP Manickam Tagore said his party was right by walking away from the alliance with the DMK, adding that a party cannot ally either with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and call themselves secular.
"Two Dravidian parties. Lifelong rivals. United overnight. Not for Tamil Nadu. Not for secularism. But to stop just one man — Vijay. The Congress saw the writing on the wall clearly. And walked out," Tagore said.
"You cannot align with the RSS/BJP’s B-team and still call yourself secular. “Stable government” is just political language used by two frightened parties trying to protect their power. Congress was right to walk away. Who is a betrayer?" he added.
The Congress was quick to support the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) after being approached by Vijay's party. The TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats, including two seats of Vijay. However, a party needs 118 MLAs for a simple majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
The Congress has five MLAs, but even with its support, the TVK will remain short of the simple majority. The party is now seeking an alliance with Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Thol Thirumavalavan's Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). All the three parties have two MLAs each and could help TVK form a government.
On the other hand, speculations are also being made about an alliance between the DMK and AIADMK. Sources have told India TV that AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has appealed to party workers to remain united, asserting that a good news is on the way. It should be mentioned here that the AIADMK has also moved 40 of its MLAs to a resort in Puducherry amid suspense over the government formation in the coastal state.
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