Two things have perhaps left the Congress red-faced. The snub by DMK for opening channels with actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to help form a stable government.
Normally in the 'democratic' set up of Congress high command culture dominated by Rajya Sabha characters; every thing is decided by the so-called dynasty and crown prince Rahul Gandhi. But now, in a late night announcement, the AICC has directed the state unit of Tamil Nadu to take a final decision on the formation of the new government.
"The Indian National Congress is determined not to have the BJP and the proxies to run the government (in Tamil Nadu). .... Accordingly, the Congress high command has directed the Tamil Nadu Congress to take a final decision on Vijay's request", Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal told reporters.
The late night 'zoom' meeting was also attended by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP, Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
AIADMK leader Leemarose Martin on Tuesday claimed that party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami is in talks to extend support to actor-turned-politician Vijay.
Of course, the BJP does not matter in Tamil Nadu because it could win only a single seat. BJP nominee M Bhojarajan won the Udhagamandalam seat.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member assembly.
DMK won 59, AIADMK - 47, the Congress - 5 and PMK - 4.
The TVK, launched in 2024, delivered a strong performance in its maiden election, winning 108 of the 234 Assembly seats.
However, it requires the support of at least 12 additional MLAs to secure a majority.
For the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was formed, featuring a seat-sharing deal amongst the BJP, PMK, and AMMK besides rhe AIADMK.
The BJP was allocated 27 seats.
There are reports that a section of old timers in Tamil Nadu Congress is also opposed to striking any deal with the TVK at this juncture because that would amount to dumping the DMK. For its part, the M K Stalin-led outfit also showed displeasure when a section of Congress high command started interacting and responding positively to the feelers from the TVK.
Moreover, parties such as Trinamool Congress (which was also humbled in West Bengal) and DMK are important players in the opposition combine called INDI-alliance.
“The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit,” Venugopal said.
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