Chennai: In a development signalling a serious crack in the INDIA bloc, the DMK has decided to stay away from the proposed INDIA bloc meeting scheduled in New Delhi on June 8.
The move by MK Stalin’s party has been triggered by its fallout with the Congress over the latter’s decision to back actor-politician Vijay’s TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu last month despite being in alliance with the DMK for long.
TVK, which emerged as the largest single party in the Assembly polls but fell short of majority, had to depend on support from others to reach the magic figure of 118. Congress, which won 5 seats, was the first to extend Vijay a helping hand without consulting the DMK.
DMK leaders accused the Congress of “betrayal” and “backstabbing”, saying that the party abandoned a decades-old partnership for political expediency.
The rift spilled over into Parliament, with DMK’s Kanimozhi writing to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking separate seating arrangements for her party’s MPs citing “changed political circumstances”.
The Opposition group is expected to discuss joint strategy against the BJP-led NDA government and strengthen coordination ahead of the upcoming political battles.
It will be a crucial meeting coming as it does a month after crushing defeats suffered by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal and the DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Without DMK, the meeting on Sunday is likely to bring together representatives from around 15 opposition parties.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are likely to attend the meeting at a time when the party is facing an existential crisis after its 15-year reign was ended by the BJP.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will attend the meeting.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is unlikely to attend the meeting, having distanced itself from the INDIA bloc.
The last INDIA bloc meeting was held in New Delhi on June 1, 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
