BJP slams Congress for ‘betrayal’ after DMK split, TVK support

The BJP has taken a swipe at the Congress for breaking away from its long term ally DMK and extending support to Vijay’s TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu, saying the party has a history of “betraying” its allies.

The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is “falling apart like a pack of cards” and lacks any common ideology or vision.

In an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday (May 5) night, the party decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state.

‘Last rites’ of INDIA bloc

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed on Wednesday that the INDIA bloc had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.

Also read: Whom did Vijay’s TVK hurt more? DMK or AIADMK?

“There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK,” he wrote in a post on X.

Calling it the “last rites” of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, “Bharat is now free of the DMK, TMC, and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK.”

A bloc formed out of ‘compulsion and ambition’

The BJP spokesperson alleged that the Opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.

“The INDI Alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards,” he said.

Also read: Assembly poll results: How BJP-Modi domination impacts INDIA bloc nationally

Questioning the unity of the Opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.

“Where was the INDI Alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI Alliance,” he said.

DMK denounces Congress ‘backstabbing’

The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as “backstabbing” by its long-time national ally.

Speaking to PTI Videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, “The Congress has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... the people of Tamil Nadu. They’ve backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu.”

He said the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded. “Even before the ink on the returning officer’s signature on the victory certificate dried up, they chose to go ahead with an alliance,” he said.

Tamil Nadu’s numbers

Vijay’s TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.

Also read: Stalin loses Kolathur seat to former protege VS Babu in stunning upset

The Congress has won five seats, while the PMK has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, DMK, has won 59 seats while the AIADMK has won 47 seats.

The BJP has won only one seat, and so have the DMDK and the AMMK, while the VCK has won two seats.

The Congress fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.

(With agency inputs)