Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026 | Congress says TVK's Vijay sought support to form secular govt, directs state unit to take a call

Venugopal said the Congress is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a “secular government committed to protect the Constitution in letter and spirit”.

New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday appeared strongly inclined to back Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form a government in Tamil Nadu following a formal request from its leader Vijay but did not rush to announce support, even as it directed its state unit to take a call “keeping in mind” the sentiments “reflected in the electoral verdict”.

The party’s decision to lob the ball into the court of Tamil Nadu Congress leadership comes even as it does not want to appear ditching its I.N.D.I.A. ally DMK at this moment as also to negotiate with TVK on the contours of the support, including the possibility of joining the government.

The decision came at a meeting chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, General Secretaries KC Venugopal (Organisation) and Jairam Ramesh (Organisation) and Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar.

In a verdict that surprised many, TVK emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu with 108 seats, which was 10 short of majority in a 234-strong Assembly, while trouncing DMK that won 59. Congress has five MLAs while other allies like CPI(M), CPI, Muslim League and VCK have two each.

After the meeting, Venugopal told reporters that Vijay has “sought” Congress’ support to form a government in Tamil Nadu. He said the Congress is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a “secular government committed to protect the Constitution in letter and spirit”.

The Congress is “determined not to have the BJP and its proxies run a government in Tamil Nadu in any manner”, he said, adding that Vijay has also spoken about drawing inspiration from “Perumthalaivar (great leader)” K Kamaraj.

“Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee to take a final decision on Vijay’s request keeping the sentiments of the state reflected in the electoral verdict,” he said.

While other allies have held a meeting with DMK, Congress had skipped the deliberations in Chennai, giving indications that it was pursuing a path on its own in this case.

Congress sources said it cannot push Vijay to the saffron camp. Before the elections, a section in the Congress had argued for going with TVK, which had offered around 75 seats to the party and slots in the government.

Congress leaders like Manickam Tagore and Praveen Chakraborty were batting for this change as DMK was not inclined to share power if it returned to power. Rahul was also said to be inclined to take a new road in Tamil Nadu during the elections but Kharge and other senior leaders counseled against dumping DMK.