DMK rules out alliance with Congress in local body polls

Senior RS Bharathi attacked Indian National Congress, rejecting future alliance and likening separation to adultery. He challenged rivals in local polls, criticised defection politics, dismissed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam rise, and reaffirmed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ideological distance from Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress parties ahead of elections challenge polls

Pudukkottai: Ruling out any future patch-up with the Congress, senior DMK leader RS Bharathi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the national party, comparing its exit from the alliance to “adultery” and said that the Dravidian major will never welcome back defectors.

“We are not there in an alliance where Congress is present. I am clarifying that,” Bharathi said.

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Addressing reporters here, Bharathi also issued a fierce electoral challenge to rivals, daring them to win a single mayor seat in the upcoming local body polls, and demanded the elections be held as early as January.

“In local body elections, people vote only for meritorious candidates. I challenge them: let elections be conducted in six months, say in January. If you can win even a single Mayor post, I will accept your strength. Are Annamalai and others ready to accept this challenge?” Bharathi asked.

Asked about Congress leader Manickam Tagore’s critical remarks regarding the DMK’s performance and alliance dynamics, Bharathi advised Tagore to self-reflect on his own victory first.

Using sharp analogies to describe the split, the senior DMK leader stated that while some separations happen by mutual consent, this breakdown was akin to a partner engaging in a “clandestine relationship”.

“No one lives with a wife who runs away. There is no longer any political ties or relationship with them. Even if the DMK leadership decides otherwise, the grassroots party cadres will never accept Congress back into the fold,” Bharathi said.

He added that despite the current political landscape, the DMK remains ideologically uncompromised and firmly ruled out ever aligning with the BJP in the future.

Taking a swipe at politicians frequently switching allegiances, Bharathi noted that the “Aya Ram Gaya Ram” culture, which historically plagued northern states like Haryana, is now showing its face in Tamil Nadu.

Targeting former AIADMK leaders and other politicians defecting to the BJP and newly formed parties, Bharathi said, “People who shift from one party to another for positions will not last long. If the government falls in six months, they will all come running back to square one”.

Downplaying the recent electoral gains of actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK, Bharathi characterised the victory a “jackpot lottery ticket” rather than an endorsement of ideology. He noted that TVK only secured a 35 per cent vote share, meaning 65 per cent of the electorate voted against them.

“People voted simply looking at a face and due to social media campaigns on Instagram. Voters don’t even know who their local MLAs or ministers are,” Bharathi claimed, drawing a parallel to how a single issue like onion prices once changed a government in Delhi. He predicted that just like Archimedes’ principle, “the faster a ball goes up, the faster it will come down,” predicting a similar trajectory for TVK.