DMK Or TVK? Cong Faces Alliance Dilemma In Tamil Nadu

With the emergence of Tamil Vetri Katchi (TVK) and actor Vijay drawing phenomenal crowds for his meetings, the Congress is no longer sure if it would benefit from sustaining its alliance with the DMK. Aware that it may not be easy to just walk out of the DMK alliance that is nearly two decades old, a section of the Congress is exploring ways to break off and stitch up a pact with Vijay’s TVK. Officially, while AICC managers, dealing with TN are fretting about finalising seat agreement with the DMK before an imaginary deadline. And somewhere out of the blue, Praveen Chakravarty, a close Rahul Gandhi aide and head of All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC), began attacking the DMK government for TN’s rising debt. Praveen’s post on X drew sharp reactions from the DMK. While the BJP enjoyed Praveen’s post, TN Cong MPs were simply not comfortable with Praveen’s attack on the DMK and TN’s debt comparisons with Uttar Pradesh. Sharpest assessment came from former IAS officer turned MP Sasikanth Senthil posted on X “Judging states by absolute debt is like judging fitness by body weight — no height, no muscle, just vibes.” TNCC chief Selvaperunthagai, in a post on X, dubbed Praveen as acting against Congress interest. As for Praveen interacting and negotiating with actor Vijay, AICC managers made it clear that it was neither “official” or authorised. The only AICC leader who is very keen about a tie-up with actor Vijay and TVK it seems is AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal who is fancying himself as the next Kerala CM. Venugopal wants a Congress-TVK tie-up to help sweep Kerala polls. He is not bothered about performance in TN. Looks like Praveen is negotiating with Vijay on behalf of Venugopal. As for TN polls, one hears DMK leader Kanimozhi is also not keen for Stalin’s return to power.