Hours after the Congress broke its decades-long alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to join hands with actor-turned-politician Tamila Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) on Wednesday to form a government in Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader accused the Congress of “betraying” the people who voted for them.
“It (Congress) has betrayed the people who voted believing that a DMK-led government would be formed,” DMK treasurer Balu said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Congress in-charge Girish Chodankar, along with party state unit president K Selvapirunthagai, and the five newly elected legislators, visited Vijay at the TVK party office and handed over a letter of support for forming the government.
This came two days after TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly in the April 23 elections, but failed to get 10 seats from the 118-seat majority mark. Vijay’s party received the support of the Congress, which won five seats, but is yet to receive explicit support from any other party. The DMK and AIADMK won 59 and 47 seats respectively.
Reacting to the AICC issuing a letter of support to TVK, Balu said it had exposed the “true nature” which they (Congress) had hidden for some time. The DMK leader added that whenever the Congress faced crises, the Dravidian party stood by them as a close ally.
“We paid a heavy price for this, but we accepted it with an open heart,” Ballou said. “Just as the BJP is resorting to shortcuts to grab power in various states, the Congress has done the same in Tamil Nadu.”
Citing Vijay’s request for support, Chodankar said the state Congress has decided to extend its full support to TVK to form the government. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Vijay, the Congress official said that the party will be part of the new government.
“We will not support only from abroad,” he said. “For us, the people’s mandate is paramount. We respect the people’s mandate.”
Following the announcement, Congress workers and supporters exploded fireworks at the party’s state headquarters, Satyamurthy Bhavan in Chennai.
The DMK has been one of the Congress’s oldest allies and the two parties first joined hands in 1971. The DMK was part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regimes from 2004 to 2013. Before the 2014 general elections, the DMK and Congress parted ways before reviving their alliance in 2016.
Senior Congress MP Manickam Tagore, who has been vocal about forming an alliance with TVK, said the verdict of the people has been passed against the DMK government and half the ministers in the state government have lost their seats.
“We have faced collateral damage through no fault of ours. Now, the BJP is looking to Tamil Nadu. The question before us is clear: Should we stand with those who have been rejected by the rule of the people or should we unite with the force that fought against the BJP and fight to prevent the BJP from ruling Tamil Nadu?” he said in a social media post on Wednesday.
Echoing similar views, Karur’s party colleague S Jothimani said her party had taken a “political stand” for the welfare of the people. “It is better that we part from the alliance with mutual respect. Both sides should avoid using harsh words.”
