In Tamil Nadu, even before the 2026 Assembly election, tensions began between the Congress and the DMK. As a result, signs started to emerge that after the election, Congress might leave the DMK alliance.
At the same time, in a move to show that it had other strong options at the national level, the DMK involved Arvind Kejriwal and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in its campaign.
Following this, “the Congress showing alignment with T.V.K. after the election results and also participating in the government caused severe dissatisfaction in the DMK leadership,” says senior journalist Priyan.
Continuing, he said, “Although it was a strong alliance with 22 MPs in Delhi, the DMK felt that Congress had brushed it aside and discarded it for the sake of local politics. As a result, the DMK stayed away from INDIA alliance meetings at the national level and, under MP Kanimozhi’s leadership, entered the fray on its own in Parliament as well as in the cockroach party’s Jantar Mantar protests,” he said.
After the assembly election, Congress, VCK, IUML, and MDMK, among other parties, left the DMK alliance. Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, who formed a new alliance under the TVK banner with them, named the alliance the “Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance” on September 9.
In this situation, the isolated DMK, having lost power in the state and also exited the INDIA alliance at the Centre, decided to form a strong third front without Congress or the BJP. Responsibility for this was entrusted to DMK deputy general secretary and MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.
As a beginning to this, on September 12 in Mumbai, Kanimozhi met and spoke with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar, MP Supriya Sule.
Mamata Banerjee was then upset because of the bitter experience she had with the Congress over seat-sharing in the West Bengal by-election constituency. Taking advantage of that situation, Kanimozhi met and spoke with Mamata Banerjee.
Although it was said that constituency delimitation was discussed during that meeting, reports emerged that the priority was to form a third front without the Congress.
However, it was said that Thirumavalavan, the Left parties, and the DMK were believed to continue in the INDIA alliance. Accordingly, the Congress had for some time slowed the pace of its confrontational approach toward the DMK.
Rahul Gandhi, Manickam Tagore, and others had been hinting that “the DMK is part of the INDIA alliance.” But the DMK had been firmly denying it.
At this juncture, a consultative meeting of the INDIA alliance parties was held in Delhi. At the meeting, Mamata Banerjee, Harendra Malik on behalf of Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, JKNC leader Omar Abdullah, IUML leader Sadique Thangal, JKPDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule, CPM leader M.A. Baby, CPI leader D. Raja, and CPIML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya participated in person.
JMM leader Hemant Soren and UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray participated via the internet. Leaders including Thirumavalavan and Vaiko also took part. In short, apart from the DMK and the Aam Aadmi Party, which were the major parties in the INDIA alliance, the rest have participated.
At that meeting, a nationwide protest was planned with the demand that Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign. Based on that, an INDIA alliance consultation meeting was held today at Chennai’s Sathyamurthy Bhavan regarding the protest to be launched against Gyanesh Kumar in Tamil Nadu.
Parties in the INDIA alliance, including the Congress, Left parties, VCK, IUML, and MDMK, took part in this. Also, for the first time, TVK has participated in an INDIA alliance meeting. On behalf of TVK, ministers Aadhav Arjuna, Mari Wilson, and others are taking part.
Journalist Brian, speaking in detail about the political background, said, “Breaking away from Congress has given the DMK a ‘safe environment’ by helping it avoid a direct confrontation with the central BJP government.
There is also concern that forming a third front at the national level would split opposition votes and, in practice, end up benefiting the BJP. Therefore, all of the DMK’s ‘third front’ moves are seen only as a temporary tactic to exert political pressure on Congress.
Although the Congress party has its own alliance at the national level, its friendly alliance partners believe that it continues to follow a tendency to weaken regional parties.
In Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party holds more than 100 constituencies, Akhilesh Yadav has stayed away from the alliance because the Congress, which won only 2 seats, is demanding more seats. Due to seat-sharing issues in states like Punjab, Goa, and Gujarat, the Aam Aadmi Party also stayed away, and in West Bengal the Trinamool Congress kept its distance as well. Moreover, hesitation continues among leaders like Sharad Pawar and Tejashwi Yadav about accepting Rahul Gandhi again as the sole prime ministerial candidate in 2029.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Dalit leaders have realized that losing the DMK, which has 22 MPs, would be a major setback at the national level. Therefore, Kharge has taken the initiative to arrange a meeting between Rahul Gandhi and M.K. Stalin when he comes to Tamil Nadu on October 10.
The DMK’s condition that “talks are possible only if Congress exits the TVK alliance,” along with the news of a Kharge-Stalin meeting, has caused great alarm in TVK.
The situation arose for T.V.K. that if Congress were to break away from them and go back to the DMK, they would be left isolated both at the national level and at the state level.
T.V.K., which had been following a soft approach and avoiding direct confrontation with the BJP over various reasons, including funding, had adopted a “want the porridge and want the moustache too” approach, making sure not to let Congress slip away either. But, alarmed by Kharge’s move, T.V.K. has now, with no other option, been forced to attend today’s INDIA alliance meeting called by Congress regarding Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In short, all the meetings, protests, and gatherings happening now are only temporary moves made to oppose the BJP-led central government and preserve their own strength. The real alliance formations, leaders, and changes in Tamil Nadu and national politics will fully take shape only six months before the 2029 general election. Until then, such political stunts will keep being talked about,” he said in detail.