At the ground level, there was no bond between DMK and Congress workers. We were winning elections, but there had always been step-brotherly treatment meted out by the DMK at the ground level, says Karti P. Chidambaram.
| Photo Credit: J. Johan Sathyadas
Congress Lok Sabha MP Karti P. Chidambaram said on Friday that the party’s decision to pull out of the alliance led by its long-standing partner DMK, after the 2026 Assembly election, need not necessarily signal the end of the INDIA bloc nationally, as the Congress continues to work with the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress despite competing with them at the State level.
‘Post-poll pacts common’
In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Karti said post-poll alliances were common worldwide, especially in Europe, and underlined the fact that the Congress’s decision to leave the DMK-led alliance did not deprive it of an opportunity to form the government in the State. “At the ground level, there was no bond between DMK and Congress workers. We were winning elections, but there had always been step-brotherly treatment meted out by the DMK at the ground level. Even during the local bodies elections, there is no proper power-sharing. The Delhi [the high command] decided that in the long term, we need a new relationship and we have to go along with a new party,” he said.
Making an appeal to take a “sober” look at the issue, he said, “You could be a competitor in the State but be a part of the national alliance. The Congress and the CPI(M) and the Congress and the TMC are competing in the States but we are together in Parliament. The manner in which the split happened has resulted in bitterness with the DMK,” he said.
Asked whether he thought the Congress could gain more by allying with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and whether it could replace the DMK when it came to stridently opposing the BJP in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Karti said, “We have to see how the relationship evolves. As of now, it is good. We are now part of the State government after 1967. This is a positive. We have been given two Cabinet posts and a Rajya Sabha seat. But the real test is the local bodies elections…and whether it [the alliance] works on the ground. If there is a fair division of power, the alliance will work.”
‘TVK is secular’
With the TVK careful not to step on the BJP’s toes, Mr. Karti added, “The TVK’s line of thinking will only become clear as its leader begins to articulate his thoughts and reacts to situations. He [Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay] has insisted that he is secular and his political alliance has reflected that. I have no doubt that the TVK is secular. The BJP uses various techniques, not just ideology; but we need to see how the TVK withstands them. The party is a new party and we need to give it time. It is a little unfair to expect it to react from day one.”
As for the reasons for the TVK to win 108 seats, he said the established political parties had failed to notice the “micro-campaign” that happened within “our homes” and refused to acknowledge the information that came from unconventional sources. “I believed that the TVK would get a substantial number of votes. My final assessment was that it would get 28% of the votes. Once they crossed 30% of the votes, they started winning seats. Not only me but also police officers, pollsters, functionaries — all of them miscalculated [the TVK’s reach]. This election has been candidate-agnostic — the voters have voted for the whistle, the TVK, and Mr. Vijay. We didn’t take the social media campaign and micro-campaign that happened in our homes seriously. Which is why when we asked our party men even after the election how many votes the party got in a particular booth, they didn’t tell us that the people voted for the TVK because they didn’t know it themselves.”
Could this be a “black swan” election and the TVK a “one-election” aberration?
“I am not willing to underestimate the TVK. He has contested, he has become the Chief Minister by making at least 100 first-timers win as MLAs, and he has formed the government. They may win or lose an election, but the party is here to stay. Today, there is purchase for unconventional politics across the world, compared with traditional, established political parties. Look at [U.S. President Donald] Trump today. He was conducting beauty pageants. There is a market for “out-of-the box” politics.”
Mr. Karti disagreed with the assertion that “being a part of the government alone could help in the growth of the party in Tamil Nadu”. “The problem with the Congress is that we will be too nice to our senior partner. We shouldn’t shy away from highlighting the people’s issues. Those who are a part of the government should be a part of it, but the party should continue to highlight the people’s issues. We have to assert ourselves. If our [political] identities merges with that of the ruling party, their fall would affect us too. That’s what happened to us.”
Published – June 05, 2026 10:10 pm IST
