Why will Congress stick to DMK and not rock the alliance boat in Tamil Nadu?

New Delhi: The Congress is unlikely to shift its allegiance in Tamil Nadu - at least for now.

The chances of Congress snapping ties with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) appear remote despite a section, including Lok Sabha member from Virudhunagar Manickam Tagore, having upped its ante against the ruling party, insisting on power sharing as a pre-condition for continuing an alliance for the upcoming assembly elections.

Tagore and some other leaders want the Congress to break its alliance with the DMK and go for a tie-up with actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), arguing that the grand old party will get some respect in the form of power sharing that the DMK has denied it so far.

He had asked for two ministerial berths for the Congress if the alliance retained power in the 2026 assembly elections in the southern state, while expressing regret that the Congress party's seat share had been reduced from 41 to 25.

Tagore visibly appears isolated in the Tamil Nadu Congress as all other senior leaders, including P Chidambaram, his son Karti and state unit chief K Selvaperunthagai, are pitching for the continuation of DMK leader MK Stalin as the chief minister after the assembly elections.

According to this section, Vijay's claim of TVK enjoying the support of 30% voter population in Tamil Nadu appears exaggerated, and his political mettle remains untested yet.

These leaders further claim that the huge presence of crowds in Vijay's rallies was due to his stature as an actor and not as a politician, and that his ability to translate the massive crowds into votes will be put to the test in the upcoming assembly polls.

They also cited the example of Kamal Hasan to buttress their claim that not all film stars have succeeded in politics so far.

Selvaperunthagai had, in fact, criticised Tagore for his remarks and stressed the need to adhere to the directives of the Congress high command on the alliance issue. He even hinted at possible disciplinary action against Tagore, also a pre-condition set by the DMK for resumption of seat-sharing talks with the grand old party.

The Tamil Nadu Congress chief's remarks came amid speculation that Tagore, who is considered close to Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal, had the backing of the party's central leadership, as otherwise he would not have gone public against the DMK despite Stalin and Rahul Gandhi sharing an excellent rapport.

A section of the Congress also claimed that Tagore's power-sharing assertion was a mere assertion, as the party was heavily dependent on the DMK, with 22 Lok Sabha seats, at the national level and for the survival of the INDIA grouping.

It remains to be seen if Rahul Gandhi picks up the phone and speaks to Stalin regarding the seat-sharing and power-sharing or leaves it to the local leadership to break the deadlock.

That said, the dominant view in the Tamil Nadu Congress is that the grand old party should stick to the DMK and not rock the alliance boat ahead of the upcoming polls by going with actor Vijay's TVK.