Congress breaks 55-year alliance with DMK to join Vijay's TVK-led govt in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Government Formation: One of Indian politics' longest-standing state alliances came to an end on Wednesday when the Congress party severed its 55-year ties with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, announcing full support for Vijay's Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam to form the next state government. The decision, sweeping in both its symbolism and its stated scope, signals a fundamental reordering of Tamil Nadu's coalition arithmetic.

55 Years, Then a Break

The Congress-DMK partnership, forged in 1969, has been a cornerstone of Tamil Nadu's secular and Dravidian political tradition for over half a century. Wednesday's break was not framed as a rupture born of grievance, but as a deliberate pivot towards what the Congress described as a stronger alignment of values and electoral ambition.

AICC leader in charge of Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, set out the ideological basis for the new arrangement in unambiguous terms.

"This alliance between the TVK and the Tamil Nadu Congress will strive to bring back Perunthalaivar Kamaraj's glory days of Tamil Nadu, with a strong commitment to Thanthai Periyar's social justice ideals and Dr B R Ambedkar's constitutional ideals in the years and decades to come. This alliance, founded on mutual respect, appropriate share, and shared responsibility between the two parties is not only for the formation of this government, but also for future elections to the local body organisations, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha," Chodankar said.

The reference to Kamaraj, the towering Congress figure who dominated Tamil Nadu politics in the 1950s and 1960s, was a pointed one, framing the TVK alliance as a homecoming of sorts for the grand old party in the state.

The One Condition Congress Has Set

The Congress was explicit that its backing for Vijay's party is not unconditional. The alliance will hold only as long as the TVK keeps communal forces at arm's length, a stipulation widely read as a reference to the BJP and its allies.

"Our support shall be conditional upon the TVK keeping out from this alliance any communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution of India," Chodankar said.

The condition carries particular weight given reports that the TVK had been engaged in discussions with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The Congress high command had stated as recently as Tuesday that it was "determined not to have the BJP and its proxies run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner," though the word "proxies" was notably absent from the party's formal statement.

A Mandate, Not Just a Deal

Chodankar made clear that the Congress viewed its support for the TVK not merely as a political calculation, but as an obligation arising from the election result itself.

"The people of Tamil Nadu, especially the youth, have delivered a very clear, strong and overwhelming verdict for a secular, progressive and welfarist government that believes in constitutional principles. They have chosen the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam led by Vijay to form the next government. The Indian National Congress stands for, and is the founding political party for, secular, progressive and welfarist politics in India. It is our constitutional duty to respect, uphold and help fulfil this mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legislative Party has decided to extend its full support to the TVK to form the government," Chodankar said.

Vijay formally requested the Congress to extend its support for the formation of a government in Tamil Nadu, the party confirmed.

The DMK Question and the INDIA Bloc

The split between the Congress and the DMK at the state level does not automatically dissolve their coexistence within the INDIA bloc, the national opposition alliance formed to contest the BJP electorally at the federal level.

Congress leaders have pointed to precedents within the bloc, noting that the Left parties, the Trinamool Congress and the Congress itself continue to operate within the alliance despite competing against one another in several states.