‘Stab in the back’: India bloc openly breaks down; DMK attacks ally Congress for backing Tamil Nadu TVK’s Vijay

New Delhi: Fissures within Indian bloc come into focus after Tamil Nadu verdict, Stalin-led MK Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Slams its ally Congress for backing actor-politician Vijay and his party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam. The DMK termed the Congress party’s move as a “stab in the back” and pointed to serious tensions within the opposition alliance.DMK joint secretary and spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai termed the move by its India Bloc ally Congress to ally with TVK as a “reckless decision” and motivated by the need to “satisfy the ego of a few”.Talking about the Congress’ decision to support TVK, he recalled the DMK’s support to the Congress and reflected on the party’s top leadership Stalinsupport Rahul Gandhi As a candidate for Prime Minister in the 2024 election. He said: “In 2016, the Congress got a good share of seats, albeit not proportionate to the seats allotted to them. The BJP-RSS is mocking Rahul Gandhi and insulting him. At that time, our leader Stalin made a bold move by naming Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate. From then on, Rahul Gandhi’s chart went up in 2024… It was all the hard work of DMK on the ground, the resources of the DMK party on the ground, that’s why they were able to get these five seats.“He also pointed out Vijay’s option to form the government with the rival AIADMK camp. He said, “I call this a reckless decision. TVK certainly needs 11 seats to cross the majority. AIADMK with 47 seats is willing to provide unconditional support. If you were Vijay, who would you listen to? 5 seats or 43 seats? So I think Congress has taken a very bad decision. Just to satisfy the ego of a few people, they will regret it immediately.”…”Annadurai doubled down, adding: “We wish Vijay good luck when he takes oath on May 7. Congress has already given support to TVK, that’s why we call it a stab in the back…Congress has decided to switch sides and support TVK, and the reasons they have cited are not convincing. They said they want to stop the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and that is why this call should be made… This is a wholehearted decision of the Congress as there are other alliance partners and this could create ripples across the country. If Congress is so untrustworthy, they spoke out against this mandate within a day of the results being announced. What impact will it have on people’s minds? Akhilesh YadavTejashwi Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray and all the others? We have never let Congress down…”Earlier, the DMK spokesperson had issued a cryptic message indirectly attacking his now estranged ally Congress – writing “the man behind it”.Meanwhile, Congress MP Manickam Tagore struck a relatively friendly tone in the DMK’s battle with the Congress, seeing the BJP as the main rival to justify ties with Vijay. He said, “The verdict went against the DMK government. Half the ministers in the cabinet lost their seats. We faced collateral damage through no fault of ours. Now, the BJP has its sights on Tamil Nadu. The question before us is clear: Should we stand with those who have been rejected by the people’s verdict, or should we join forces with the anti-BJP forces and try to stop the BJP from ruling Tamil Nadu?”The political upheaval comes on the heels of the election debut of super movie star Vijay, whose TVK broke the long-standing dominance of DMK and AIADMK. TVK emerged as the largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, falling short of a majority but fundamentally changing the political arithmetic in Tamil Nadu.With the DMK ousted and facing a weakened position, the Congress’s willingness to support TVK despite having only six seats has fueled speculation of a shakeup. The move not only threatens the DMK’s partnership with the Congress in the state, but also raises wider questions about the cohesion within the Indian bloc.