Congress MP Manickam Tagore demands power sharing; DMK, allies respond sharply

Chennai: A cryptic social media post by Congress whip in Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, highlighting that the time has come to share power in Tamil Nadu not just seats by pointing to a pre-poll survey triggered a sharp response from the DMK.

The ruling party asked why Manickam Tagore was “reopening” a chapter “closed by other constituents” of the alliance after realising that the demand for a share in power was being used by the RSS and BJP to “destabilise” the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA).

DMK leaders were joined by alliance partners such as CPI (M) and VCK who said Tamil Nadu needs a stable government in 2026. “When divisive forces seek to destabilise Tamil Nadu, the primary objective of democratic forces must be to safeguard the stability of our state,” VCK MP D Ravikumar said, while CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugham said there was no need to talk about coalition government vis-à-vis 2026 elections.

Tagore, the Lok Sabha MP from Virudhunagar, said “coalition politics” was the reality in Tamil Nadu and that no political party can win elections in the state without an alliance. “At the same time, the time has come to discuss sharing of power. Time for share of power, not only share of seats,” he wrote and posted the results of a survey which said the DMK-led alliance will win the 2026 assembly polls.

However, the Congress leader said the vote share of his party has not been reflected properly in the survey. Speaking to reporters in Madurai, Tagore said the SPA will achieve victory in 2026 much like 2021 but he insisted that time has come for alliance partners to join the government.

His statements triggered sharp responses from DMK leaders who did not like Tagore talking about “power sharing” on a public platform. Dravidian parties have been averse to sharing power with alliance partners despite facing the elections in an alliance.

DMK spokesperson Dr S A S Hafeezullah said the party wanted to contest 30 Lok Sabha seats after it returned to power in the state in 2021. “But for the sake of the alliance and understanding the ground reality, we contested fewer seats in 2024 than in 2019. This is understanding the importance of an alliance,” he said, suggesting that the Congress should reciprocate the gesture and not demand power sharing.

Former Rajya Sabha MP and NRI wing chief M M Abdulla said social media observers know that the right wing outfits, now resigned to the fact that the NDA won’t come to power in Tamil Nadu, began circulating rumours about power sharing in the DMK alliance.

“Having realised the designs of the BJP, several alliance leaders made it clear that defeating the RSS-BJP was their only goal, not power. When everyone has forgotten this, who will benefit from this talk? Leaders of the alliance and cadres of political parties are united to take on the AIADMK-BJP combine,” Abdulla said.

In his response, Tagore said he will continue to fight the BJP inside and outside Parliament and that he will always speak for the betterment of his party, Congress. He also posted a video where AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu Girish Chodankar talking about share in power and said this was the official stand of his party.

Tagore’s comments come days after Chodankar said the Congress was in an alliance with the DMK and dismissed rumours about the party exploring a tie-up with actor Vijay’s TVK.