The first ripples of the Congress’s political realignment in Tamil Nadu were felt on Friday as the DMK wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking a change in the seating arrangement of its MPs, saying it would not be appropriate for its members to sit alongside those of the Congress.

A founding member of the INDIA bloc, the DMK was the Congress’s dependable and steadfast ally in the fractious alliance so far. The bitter Congress-DMK split will cast a shadow on the INDIA bloc’s cohesion and coordination in Parliament.

The DMK’s move did not come as a surprise given the manner in which it attacked the Congress for dumping it unceremoniously and joining hands with Vijay’s TVK, not just for the formation of the state government but for all future elections, too. Although the Congress would be relieved by the fact that the other DMK allies — the CPI and CPI(M) — have decided to back the TVK, some within the party believe its leadership of the INDIA bloc would soon come under question.

While the Congress has framed the shift from the DMK alliance to the TVK alliance as an ideologically driven bid to keep communal forces from gaining a toehold in Tamil Nadu, the fact remains that the party was looking for a reason to exit the alliance. For a long time now, the party’s leadership has been under pressure from the cadre to part ways with the DMK — their argument being that they don’t get respect in the alliance. The Congress felt further slighted when the DMK refused its demand for an increase in the number of seats and a share in power. “The cadre was basically saying that in a coalition, sharing the rewards is important. But the DMK would not have it… This has led to quite a lot of disappointment,” a Congress leader said.

It is a political gamble for the Congress as the party’s leadership believes Vijay will dominate Tamil Nadu politics in the near future and aligning with the popular actor-turned politician will help it expand its footprint in the state.

A section of Congress leaders believes the TVK should be invited to be a part of the INDIA bloc, which has been in a state of functional paralysis since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. While the Congress believes that the DMK and TVK can co-exist in the alliance, just like the Trinamool Congress, Congress and the Left parties — who fight each other in West Bengal and Kerala — the DMK’s refusal to even sit alongside the Congress in Parliament will complicate matters.

In a letter to Birla seeking “suitable changes” in the seating arrangement of DMK members in Lok Sabha, the party’s MP, Kanimozhi, said: “In view of the changed political circumstances and as our alliance with the Indian National Congress has come to an end, it may not be appropriate for our members to continue occupying the present seating arrangement alongside them in the House.” She urged the Speaker to ensure that DMK members are allotted separate seating,  “enabling them to effectively discharge their responsibilities” in the House.

The move came after the DMK’s newly elected MLAs passed a resolution criticising the Congress. Although the Congress was the largest party in the Opposition in Parliament and the only party in the INDIA bloc with four state governments (Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, and now Kerala), a section of the party believes its leadership will come under question.

“INDIA bloc was formed to take on the BJP at the national level. There are no national elections now. So the alliance is defunct…but with Mamata Banerjee sending signals that she is keen to resurrect the alliance…there will be demands that we hand over the leadership to one of the regional leaders. And sadly, the DMK will not be in our corner now,” a senior Congress leader said.

Akhilesh’s message

On Thursday, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav flew into Kolkata and met Banerjee in a public show of solidarity. On Friday, he put out a cryptic social media post supporting Banerjee and Stalin, which was seen as a subtle message to the Congress. “We are not the ones who abandon each other in times of difficulty,” Yadav said in a post with pictures of himself with Banerjee and Stalin. Kanimozhi promptly thanked him for the “solidarity and support”.

Sources in the SP said Akhilesh shares warm ties with Banerjee and Stalin, and the post should merely be seen as him standing with them in their time of crisis. The sources said the SP would have an alliance with the Congress for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections next year.

That said, the fact remains that the Congress’s ties with many of its allies have come under strain. In Maharashtra, it chose to contest the BMC elections on its own and not be a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Ties between the Congress and the RJD in Bihar have also been uneasy since the defeat of the Mahagathbandhan last year. The same is the case with the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Gurgaon on Friday: “There are two ideologies: RSS and Congress. Hatred and love. All the other parties will not be able to stand against them. Not one. In the end, it will be the Congress standing against them, and we will defeat them.”

— With inputs from Nikhila Henry