- Congress switches support from DMK to actor Vijay's TVK after Tamil Nadu elections
- TVK offered Congress 60 seats and government roles; DMK rejected increased demands
- Congress aims to strengthen state base and participate in Tamil Nadu government
The Congress has ditched ally DMK and extended its support to actor Vijay, whose Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has delivered a political blockbuster by sweeping the Tamil Nadu elections. The support being conditional, the Congress has demanded that the TVK keeps out the "communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution."
The alliance isn't just limited to government formation in Tamil Nadu, the party said, stressing that it would cover future elections ranging from the local bodies to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The DMK has dubbed the Congress move an act of betrayal. The Congress, however, argues that it stands with the public mandate and has taken this step to keep the BJP out of Tamil Nadu.
The move, however, was not sudden; the groundwork for it had been laid over the past few months.
Congress Leaders Sensed A Tsunami
While everyone was taken aback by the TVK's resounding victory within two years of being launched, some leaders within the state Congress had sensed this "Vijay tsunami" well in advance.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore, a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi, and Praveen Chakravarty, the head of the Congress's professional wing, had worked tirelessly behind the scenes to persuade the party to ally with the TVK, rather than with the DMK.
Read: Tamil Nadu Governor Not Convinced Vijay's TVK Has Majority, Oath Unlikely Tomorrow: Sources
However, instead of showing the political will to take a calculated risk, the Congress high command chose to negotiate with the DMK.
The Congress put forward a demand for around 40 Assembly seats and sought ministerial berths in the next DMK-led government. The DMK rejected their demand for a share in the government as well as the request for 15 more seats than they had received in the previous election cycle.
The TVK, on the other hand, was willing to accommodate the Congress with around 60 seats and offer it a role in the government.
The DMK Rift, And Call To Vijay
The Congress leadership, essentially "Team Rahul Gandhi", was initially in no mood to yield to the DMK; however, in the eleventh hour, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and veteran leader P Chidambaram adopted a more flexible stance. The party eventually accepted 28 Assembly seats along with one Rajya Sabha seat.
The Congress and the DMK did contest the elections together, and Rahul Gandhi refrained from sharing the stage with Chief Minister MK Stalin throughout the campaign period, exposing an apparent rift between the two top leaders.
On the results day, as soon as it became evident that the DMK had been ousted from power, Gandhi called Vijay to congratulate him and assured him that the Congress stood with him.
Opinion: The Vijay Paradox: How A 'Welfare State' Still Ended Up Dissatisfied
Prior to their formal announcement of backing the TVK, Kharge, Gandhi, and General Secretary (Organization) KC Venugopal also held deliberations in Delhi and decided to convene an emergency meeting of the Tamil Nadu Congress leaders to formally ratify this decision.
Sources suggest that Kharge was initially not in favour of parting ways with the DMK. But after the election results, he agreed.
The Congress high command took great care to ensure that, at the national level, the party is not seen as abandoning an old ally after defeat. Moreover, the DMK is a key constituent of the opposition strength in Parliament; without its support, it would be difficult for the Congress to effectively corner the central government.
To keep its options open in Delhi, the announcement to back the TVK was made in Chennai.
According to sources, the Congress expects to be allotted two ministerial berths in Vijay's government. If all goes well, Rahul Gandhi may also attend Vijay's swearing-in ceremony.
In the 234-seat Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the TVK has 108 seats and needs the support of 10 more MLAs to secure a majority. The alliance with the Congress brings in five seats.
The Congress is now trying to project that it was the TVK that had proposed this alliance.
Why Congress Went With TVK
The main reason why the Congress allied with the TVK is the opportunity it presents--to participate in the government in Tamil Nadu after nearly 60 years while simultaneously strengthening its organisational base within the state.
However, the rationale extends beyond just this single factor. Vijay has been close to the Congress for quite some time. Rahul Gandhi had invited him for a meeting back in 2009. A statue of K Kamaraj, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and a prominent Congress leader, stands installed at the TVK headquarters.
The TVK is a new party; it possesses neither a robust organizational structure nor any experience in governance. Therefore, the Congress feels that the TVK will treat it with the respect that it felt was lacking during its alliance with the DMK.
The first major test for Rahul Gandhi-Vijay combine will be the Lok Sabha elections 2029 as the DMK - which swept all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the last two general elections - will not leave any stone unturned to teach the Congress a lesson for abandoning it after defeat.
