DMK seeks separate seats, Akhilesh's cryptic post: Congress-TVK tie up widens rift among I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties

New Delhi: Kanimozhi’s letter seeking separate seating arrangement for DMK MPs in Lok Sabha and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's cryptic post on not abandoning one in times of difficulty after Congress’ support to TVK on Friday laid bare the troubles in the now fragile I.N.D.I.A. bloc, even as Left parties and VCK too dumped MK Stalin to back Vijay.

The uneasiness in the bloc, with the DMK announcing its exit almost two years after AAP’s leaving, could reflect in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament when the Modi government may try to bring Bills on the contentious delimitation, which a united opposition defeated last month, and early implementation of women’s quota.

After DMK leaders’ attack on the Congress for leaving the alliance within 24 hours of Stalin’s defeat in the Assembly elections, its senior MP Kanimozhi shot off a letter to Speaker Om Birla saying that they want a change in the seating arrangements in the House as the alliance with the Congress has “come to an end” and in view of the “changed political circumstances”

She told the Speaker that it “may not be appropriate” for DMK MPs to “continue occupying the present seating arrangement alongside” them and sought separate seating, “enabling them to effectively discharge their responsibilities” in Lok Sabha. MPs from the DMK, which is angry over its ex-partner’s “backstabbing”, are currently seated next to Congress MPs.

In 2024 after the I.N.D.I.A bloc reduced the BJP to 240 seats in Lok Sabha elections, Congress had written to the Speaker on behalf of the allies, barring then 29-member Trinamool Congress, to allocate seats to the 205 MPs as a bloc.

Yadav also appeared to have weighed in the developments and in an apparent dig at the Congress said on ‘X’ posting pictures with Trinamool’s Mamata Banerjee and Stalin, “we are not the ones who abandon each other in times of difficulty.” Kanimozhi was quick to respond with a “thank you for the solidarity and support” post.

The SP chief had visited Mamata in Kolkata on Thursday and expressed solidarity with her though he had not campaigned for her unlike other leaders like Hemant Soren, Arvind Kejriwal and Tejashwi Yadav. It was interpreted as Yadav keeping the Congress in good humour, as Uttar Pradesh elections are just months away.

Interestingly, Congress top leader Rahul Gandhi too had endorsed her allegations of vote theft in Bengal elections and barred partymen from “gloating over” the results after accusing Trinamool of being a BJP agent during the campaign.

While allies are singling out the Congress for dumping DMK, the Left parties – CPI(M) and CPI – and VCK too announced support for TVK after much delay.

They were in a dilemma over leaving the DMK alliance immediately after the results after taking a position that they “cannot act like Congress” even while acknowledging the mandate for TVK but Stalin’s decision to explore joining hands with AIADMK helped them shed their reluctance in changing their stand.

For the DMK, the solace has come from DMDK and Muslim League not leaving the alliance in Tamil Nadu. Incidentally, leaders in the CPI(M) and CPI had acknowledged that continuing with the DMK would have been difficult after its dalliance with AIADMK, as they would have been wiped out in a future electoral battle.