Chennai: The DMK did not attend the INDIA alliance meeting held in Delhi on Sunday, even as parties that were earlier part of the DMK-led front in Tamil Nadu—MDMK, VCK and the Communist parties—were present.
The INDIA bloc was formed in June 2023 under the Congress umbrella with more than 20 parties, including the DMK and Samajwadi Party, to take on the BJP. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the alliance won 234 seats, putting the BJP under pressure, and the bloc also recorded a complete sweep in Tamil Nadu.
However, after the BJP’s strong performances in the Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi Assembly elections, the alliance’s momentum was seen as weakening. The report says the Congress called the latest meeting after recent political developments, including its return to power in Kerala after a decade and changes in alignments in several states.
In Tamil Nadu, the report notes that Congress, VCK, Muslim League, CPI(M) and CPI—earlier in the DMK alliance—have moved to the TVK-led front, and MDMK has also been showing alignment with TVK. DMK announced it would not participate in INDIA bloc meetings, citing that its cadre were hurt by what it called Congress “betrayal.”
Despite DMK’s expectation of support from several regional leaders, the meeting was attended by 23 parties, including Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, RJD, Uddhav Sena, CPI(M), CPI, Muslim League, National Conference and JMM, along with MDMK and VCK. The report adds that only AAP, which had already exited the bloc, and the DMK were absent, and that DMK now faces a difficult choice in national politics.
