Alliance with DMK strong, will ensure BJP’s defeat in Tamil Nadu elections: Rahul Gandhi

The former Congress President's assertion comes amid strains in the parties' alliance in neighbouring Puducherry

Asserting that the party’s alliance with DMK in Tamil Nadu was “strong”, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that it was the “duty and responsibility” of both parties to ensure that the BJP is “soundly defeated” in the state.

Gandhi also said that the people of Tamil Nadu will not accept a government that is “remote-controlled” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an apparent reference to the AIADMK dispensation headed by Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Though it was imperative to expand the support base for Congress in Tamil Nadu, Gandhi said that the prime objective now was to fight and defeat the ideology of the BJP and RSS which “we think is a threat to this nation.”

“I am going to come here more often. As I told you, I like coming here. Of course, we have to strengthen the alliance against the BJP. It is our duty and our responsibility to make sure that the BJP is soundly defeated here,” Gandhi told Tamil channel Puthiya Thalaimurai in an interview.

He was responding to a question on whether his visits to Tamil Nadu were aimed at expanding the support base for the Congress or to “bargain” more seats for the party during seat-sharing talks with the DMK. The Congress MP spoke to the channel during his three-day visit to western Tamil Nadu that ended on Monday.

On the alliance with DMK, Gandhi said that the Congress has a “good relationship” with the Dravidian major while admitting that were “minor issues” between the two alliance partners in neighbouring Puducherry.,

“I have said that the Tamil people will not accept a government that is controlled by remote control by Mr Modi. So you will see a similar reaction. Lok Sabha elections said we are not going to accept this person who thinks he can run our lives. The same spirit is there,” said the Congress leader when asked if the alliance will repeat the stupendous victory that it achieved during 2019 polls.

The Congress MP refused to discuss the number of seats that the party would get in the DMK alliance. “Such things are not discussed on television. It would be very disrespectful of me to do that... We have a strong relationship with DMK and we want to ensure that Tamil Nadu gets a formidable government,” added Gandhi.