DMK–Congress pact faces test as power-sharing debate Intensifies ahead of Tamil Nadu election

In 2019, Stalin also publicly backed Rahul Gandhi as the Opposition’s prime ministerial face.

• Congress-DMK alliance faces strain ahead of Tamil Nadu polls
• Congress demands power share, DMK rules out possibility
• DMK delays seat talks, seeks Congress clarity on Tagore remarks

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Ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly election, the seven-year-old alliance between the Congress and DMK is being put to test. According to a report by Indian Express, the equation is facing strain due to churn within the Congress itself.

The immediate trigger came reportedly from Madurai where Virudhunagar MP B Manickam Tagore sharpened his attack on the DMK. “When the DMK district secretary asks disparagingly whether the Congress has enough workers to handle the booths, it becomes a problem. We carried the blame and answered for your mistakes,” he said, invoking the UPA’s 2014 debacle. “Our leader Rahul Gandhi calls CM M K Stalin his ‘elder brother’. He expects the same respect to be given to the ordinary Congress workers…” he said.

The IE report stated that the meeting passed a resolution demanding a share in power. However, recently Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin publicly ruled out the possibility.

Congress insiders described the tension as a reflection of a quiet rivalry within the national leadership.

According to the IE report, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief K Selvaperunthagai is seen as aligned with party president Mallikarjun Kharge. Tagore is viewed as close to Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal.

One senior Congress leader said that while the number of seats remained open for negotiation, the broader alliance decision had effectively been settled when DMK MP Kanimozhi met Rahul Gandhi.

Senior Congress leaders told IE that when regional heavyweights like K Chandrashekar Rao, Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar explored non-Congress federal alternatives, the DMK chose to remain aligned with the Congress.

In 2019, Stalin also publicly backed Rahul Gandhi as the Opposition’s prime ministerial face. In 2024, several relatively new Congress candidates rode the alliance’s organisational strength to decisive victories. “The national party’s strike rate was highest within the DMK alliance,” a senior minister told IE.

The last time the Congress fought a major Lok Sabha contest in Tamil Nadu on its own — in 2014 — its vote share barely crossed 4 per cent.

Within the DMK, however, there is little appetite for an open rupture. Leaders told IE that a Congress exit may not significantly dent the party’s core support base, but they concede that the optics of a split could carry political costs.

Meanwhile, sources told IE that the DMK has informally conveyed that it will not initiate seat-sharing talks until the Congress leadership in Delhi clarifies whether remarks made by Tagore had the backing of Gandhi.

Tagore told IE that he was merely responding to public remarks by certain DMK ministers and stressed that the Congress remains committed to keeping the INDIA bloc intact. He also dismissed suggestions that his statements were cleared by Gandhi.