DMK outwits Congress by welcoming DMDK into the fold

DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth and party treasurer L K Sudish met Chief Minister M K Stalin at Anna Arivalayam this week.

• DMDK joins DMK-led alliance, boosting DMK's negotiation power
• Congress faces seat loss and uncertain future in Tamil Nadu
• DMDK's entry weakens Congress's bargaining position with DMK

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Political alliances are fluid in Tamil Nadu, and it was no surprise that DMDK, founded by actor Vijayakant, negotiated with both the AIADMK, its ally in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, and the DMK, before choosing the latter after a period of tense negotiations.

The development strengthens the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) of the DMK, the incumbent and the front runner, as the DMK continues its protracted talks with the Congress over seats and power sharing.

“You (DMDK) have a party flag in red and black. Let it contribute to the development of the State. Let us travel together so that the Dravidian Model government continues and Tamil Nadu achieves growth in all fields,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin said in a social media post on Thursday.

The DMK is effectively adding another layer of support for the alliance that reduces the dependence on the Congress.

The message to the Congress is clear: fall in line or step away. The Congress was trying to project the TVK of actor Vijay as one of its alliance options while bargaining hard with the DMK for more seats and a share in power should the alliance win.

Virudhunagar Congress MP B Manickam Tagore and Congress functionary Praveen Chakravarty had run a campaign demanding more seats and power sharing. They threatened that if DMK does not comply, Congress should go with the actor Vijay’s TVK. Chakravarthy even met TVK leaders in this regard. On Sunday Tagore had reasoned that the Congress had shared the burden of the DMK’s mistakes (in 2014) and now DMK should share power. He participated in the meeting of the Madurai South district unit of the Congress which adopted a resolution demanding a share in power.

But Stalin is clear there will be no agreement on power sharing. An upset Stalin and his party demanded action against Tagore and Chakravarthy by the Congress leadership without which seat sharing negotiations would not be held.

Now Congress is reconciled to this situation with Tagore going on record saying it's for the people of Tamil Nadu to decide whether they want a coalition government or not, effectively deferring a decision on this to the post-election scenario.

The entry of the DMDK thus strengthens the DMK’s negotiation strategy and leaves the Congress with the realisation it is more dispensable as an ally. There is also a feeling that some Vijayakant fans, who may also be Vijay fans, might now vote for a combination that includes the DMDK.

The new alliance has left the state BJP/AIADMK camp bitter as in a statement the state BJP claimed: “Throughout his public life, Vijayakant worked to oppose the DMK, an evil force. Therefore, the DMK gave only hardships and humiliation to him and his party. The Captain’s (Vijayakant) soul will never forgive that his party has today joined hands with the anti-people DMK.”

However, DMDK general secretary and Vijayakant’s widow Premalatha Vijayakant said the alliance was formed as decided by the party district secretaries: “Our leader, Captain, wanted this to happen in 2016 itself, and Kalaignar (former DMK chief M Karunanidhi) even said, ‘The fruit is about to slip into the milk.’ Captain is not with us now, but the alliance has happened after 10 years.”

In the end, Congress, which is dependent on the DMK cadres to work at the grassroots level to win a seat, has antagonised the DMK functionaries; it faces reduced quota of seats with the entry of DMDK in the alliance; and, finally, placed its own future in Tamil Nadu at stake.