Congress considered alliance with Vijay’s TVK before Tamil Nadu polls: Karti Chidambaram

Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said there were voices within the party supporting an alliance with Vijay’s TVK even before the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. However, the Congress leadership chose to continue its alliance with the DMK while later extending support to TVK

Chennai: Senior Indian National Congress leader Karti Chidambaram on Wednesday said there were voices within his party favouring an alliance with actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam even before the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

“There were voices within the party that mooted an alliance with TVK before the elections. There is no doubt about that,” Karti told PTI Videos.

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However, he said the party leadership, after consulting all stakeholders, decided to continue its alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

“Many felt that the long-standing relationship with the DMK has to be respected,” he said, adding, “We want a secular government, and there can be no compromise on that.”

Claiming that the TVK leader had reached out to the Congress, he said the party had reciprocated positively and responded by extending support for the formation of the government in Tamil Nadu.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly in the recently held elections. The majority mark to form the government is 118.

While the Congress party has publicly announced its support for TVK, it is not immediately known which other parties have extended support to Vijay’s party.

Karti also made it clear that Congress has only an electoral alliance with the DMK and is not part of the government. However, he said Congress can still work with the DMK at the national level.

Vijay is likely to take oath as Chief Minister on May 7, according to sources.

Replying to a question, he said the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam “is in crisis”, and added that it needs to assess whether it has a viable future under the leadership of its chief, Edappadi K Palaniswami.