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There is a government of Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu. After the 2021 assembly elections, both of them contested the Lok Sabha elections together, but before the 2026 assembly elections, many speculations have started. There is talk that Congress is approaching Thalapathy Vijay’s Tamilana Vetri Kazhagam (TVK). Congress has also rejected the news of leaving DMK, but something or the other is happening every day which is creating panic in the ruling alliance of Tamil Nadu. Now Congress MP Manickam Tagore has again said that Congress and DMK will remain together.

Praveen Chakraborty has become the latest reason for this alleged rift in the relations between Congress and DMK in Tamil Nadu. Praveen, considered close to Rahul Gandhi, is the chairman of All India Professionals Congress. He described Vijay as a ‘major force’ of Tamil Nadu. His statement had given a little more air to the possibilities of the alliance. On the other hand, Congress is continuously denying such things and calling DMK as its ‘natural partner’. The interesting thing is that Vijay’s TVK has described Congress as its most ‘natural partner’.

What happened in the meeting of Praveen and Vijay?

Regarding meeting Thalapathy Vijay, Praveen Chakraborty says, ‘Yes, I met Vijay. That’s all I can say. What is the problem in meeting people? Vijay is a big force and no one can deny it. Praveen Chakraborty also says that now is the time to strengthen Congress in Tamil Nadu because the party has weakened in this state in the last 60 years.

Earlier, on December 29, Praveen Chakraborty had raised questions about the debt situation of Tamil Nadu which shook DMK-Congress relations. It is said that MK Stalin is very angry with this but he has asked his party leaders not to make any statement on this. On the other hand, Congress leaders under the leadership of Congress state in-charge Girish Chodankar met Stalin but there was no discussion on seat sharing.

What happened in 2019, 2021 and 2024?

Congress and DMK contested the 2021 assembly elections together. There were some other parties also in this alliance. In Tamil Nadu, which has 234 assemblies, Congress had got only 25 seats. DMK itself contested 176 seats and the remaining seats were distributed among other alliance partners. When the results came, DMK secured majority alone and won 133 seats. Congress won 18 out of 25 seats. Earlier in 2016, it had won 8 seats after fighting on 41 seats and in 2011, it had won only 5 seats after fighting on 63 seats.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress contested 9 seats and DMK contested 23 seats. DMK won all 23 seats and Congress won 8 out of 9 seats. Almost the same formula followed in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This time Congress won the elections on 9 seats and DMK on 22 seats.

What does Congress want?

In fact, Congress, which has been running as the younger brother of Congress in Tamil Nadu for a long time, now wants to enlarge its role. According to reports, this time Congress wants 40 seats, not 25. At the same time, DMK does not want to give more than 32 seats. This is the reason why some Congress leaders, in their desire to become the elder brother, want to form a new alliance with Vijay and other parties.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore, close to Rahul Gandhi himself, had said, ‘The party does not just want an alliance on seats but we also want a stake in the government.’ Interestingly, at present there is not a single Congress minister in the Tamil Nadu government. Now Congress wants to overcome this. This is the reason why apart from seats, there is also talk of power in the alliance.

Earlier, TVK spokesperson Felix Gerald had added fuel to the fire that Praveen Chakraborty had set in Tamil Nadu with his statements. Felix had said that Rahul Gandhi and Vijay are friends and there is a lot of potential for their alliance.

The situation should not be like Bihar

The current situation shows that once again a situation of confusion is arising in the Congress and some leaders are demanding more seats. Something similar was seen in Bihar also. Congress wanted 60 seats but Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was not ready for this. The result was that despite the alliance, there was never any formal announcement as to who was contesting on how many seats. The results surprised this alliance and now there is talk in Bihar that the RJD-Congress alliance may break.

In Tamil Nadu too, like Bihar, there is a demand to increase the number of seats and power sharing. Many ambitious leaders want Congress to get more seats and strengthen itself in Tamil Nadu by participating in the government.