Call it the Vijay effect. Rattling the ruling DMK, Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu have started raising the demand for a share in power with a renewed push for a coalition government after the assembly election early next year.
This comes in the wake of actor Vijay’s open invite to political parties to align with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which will share power in government.
A constituent of the INDIA Bloc in the state, led by the DMK, the Congress eyes an opportunity for a coalition experiment in 2026. The state had never had a coalition government so far, and the very idea is an anathema to both the Dravidian parties – DMK and AIADMK, which have alternately ruled the state since 1967. But, for Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu, reviving ‘Kamaraj’ rule, said to be the golden era of the state, continues to be a slogan to keep the cadre and its support base in good humour ever since the party was dethroned by the DMK under ‘Anna’ (CN Annadurai) in 1967.
After the Sivaganga MP, Karthi Chidambaram displayed the desire for the Congress to be a constituent of the government, Congress Legislature Party Leader (CLP), S Rajeshkumar, who represents Killiyoor in Kanniyakumari district in the Assembly, said that party legislators and functionaries would press the party national leadership to push for a coalition government. Even TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai had earlier made his desire known at a party forum.
“There are two models of coalition government. One is when the dominant party has no majority on its own, and the other is accommodating the allies even if the alliance leader has a majority of its own, as in Andhra Pradesh. We missed the opportunity in 2006, but when such an opportunity comes, we will grab it,” Karthi had said recently, but said things could wait till the assembly election was over. This missed opportunity he was referring to was 2006, when the DMK alliance, comprising the Congress, secured 163 seats, with the DMK getting only 96. However, the Congress and other allies stayed away from the minority Karunanidhi government, extending outside support.
Now, CLP leader Rajeshkumar has raked it up again. “Any party out of power can do very little to spur its growth. Yet, the Congress remains a vibrant party, with the leadership of Rahul Gandhi having a huge appeal among the people of Tamil Nadu. In the elections to the Lok Sabha as well as the Assembly, the electorate had opted for the alliance in which the Congress is a constituent. The party acts as a multiplier for the alliance. As such, we will bargain for more seats and a share in power as desired by the legislators and the functionaries and to have a meaningful intervention in government programmes and policies,” he says, adding that being part of the government is necessary for the party’s growth.
However, some sections within the Congress, including former TNCC president S Thirunavukkarasar, who is a former AIADMK veteran, have said that the demand for power was not in the interest of the INDIA Bloc. With elections just a few months away, it is expected that the chorus for power sharing might get louder, say observers. It is pertinent to note that DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan had already made it clear that the people of Tamil Nadu would never accept the coalition experiment.