Amid fast-moving post-poll realignments in Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin on Saturday, May 9, sharply criticised the Congress for abruptly severing ties with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led alliance and backing C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form the next government.
In a long statement issued after the political deadlock in the state appeared to end, Stalin accused the Congress of abandoning the alliance immediately after the election results, while praising the Left parties and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) for continuing to stand with the DMK “on the basis of policy”.
However, Stalin reserved his sharpest criticism for the Congress. Referring to the party’s decision to support TVK, he said Congress MLAs who had contested and won as part of the DMK-led alliance did not even come to Anna Arivalayam to thank the leadership after the results. “On the same day, the Congress party severed ties with the DMK and proceeded,” he said.
The remarks come days after the Congress announced conditional support to a TVK-led government. The move had angered the DMK leadership, which subsequently explored the possibility of opening channels with its long-time rival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), to assess the feasibility of an alternative post-poll arrangement.
While attacking the Congress, Stalin thanked leaders of the communist parties and VCK for maintaining ties with the DMK despite supporting the TVK government from outside. He specifically acknowledged VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, along with Left leaders including Shanmugam and Veerapandian, for continuing to fight alongside the DMK for “the rights of Tamil Nadu and the welfare of the people”.
“At this crucial time of testing, I express my deepest gratitude from the heart to all the alliance movement leaders who stood firmly with us,” Stalin said, thanking leaders including Vaiko, Premalatha Vijayakanth, Jawahirlulla, Eswaran and Tamimun Ansari for standing by the DMK during what he described as a politically difficult moment.
The DMK chief said that he had already informed the media that the DMK would not obstruct the formation of a new government and would instead function as a “constructive opposition party”.
Stalin said he believed all alliance partners should be allowed to take independent decisions in the interest of ensuring stability and preventing another election. Welcoming the decision of alliance partners to extend support to the TVK government while remaining aligned with the DMK ideologically, he said the move was aimed at resolving the prevailing political uncertainty.
“Whatever decision our allied parties take, I believed that we should respect their decision, act in coordination, ensure a stable government is formed, and not pave the way for another election,” he said.
The statement came shortly after the VCK formally announced “unconditional support” to the TVK, effectively clearing the path for Vijay to stake claim to form the next government. With the support of the Congress, communist parties, VCK and IUML, the TVK now has the numbers required to cross the majority mark in the Assembly.
The road to government formation had remained uncertain over the past several days. After securing letters of support from the Left parties, Vijay and senior TVK leaders met Rajendra Arlekar on May 6 to stake claim to form the government. However, the Governor reportedly asked the TVK to return with proof of majority support after questions emerged over the numbers.
Meanwhile, protests erupted in parts of Chennai on May 8, with TVK and Congress workers accusing the Governor of disrespecting the public mandate by delaying the invitation to form the government.
TVK won 108 seats in the election, but Vijay is expected to vacate one of the two constituencies he contested and won, reducing the party’s effective tally to 107. Since one TVK MLA is also expected to become Speaker, the party’s effective voting strength drops to 106.
In the 232-member House, the TVK will require 117 votes to survive a floor test if all MLAs are present. With support from five Congress MLAs, four communist legislators, two VCK MLAs and two IUML legislators, the TVK’s tally rises to 119, giving Vijay a narrow but workable majority.
