Even as the 2026 Assembly elections draw near, tensions between alliance partners in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Indian National Congress, have escalated sharply.
The main point of contention is now who will lead the INDIA bloc in the upcoming Puducherry Assembly elections, rather than the Congress’s interest in actor Vijay and his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
In the context of the alliance dynamics for the 2026 upcoming TN and Puducherry elections, the Congress MP Manickam Tagore has questioned the DMK’s recent aggressive push to lead the alliance in Puducherry, pointing to vote-share disparities.
“Should a party with 26 per cent vote share (Congress) lead the alliance, or a party (DMK) with just 8 per cent?,” he asked, adding that the continued “humiliation” of Congress within the alliance was unacceptable. Tagore emphasised that the party high command would take an appropriate decision at the right time.
DMK-Congress equation
Puducherry, a Union Territory with a 30-member Assembly (plus three nominated members), will go to the polls in 2026 along with Tamil Nadu. The current government is led by the All India NR Congress (AINRC), with support from the BJP.
The DMK, which sits in the Opposition, is the largest group with six MLAs, while Congress has only two. Historically, Congress has been the dominant partner in Puducherry coalitions, forming governments multiple times, most recently under V Narayanasamy (2016–2021). The DMK has not been part of a ruling coalition in Puducherry since 2000.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK comfortably leads the INDIA alliance and has repeatedly ruled out giving Congress a share in government, even as Congress leaders press for more seats and influence ahead of 2026. The entry of TVK has added a layer of uncertainty, with some Congress circles reportedly exploring alternatives, though senior leaders insist on continuing with DMK.
Trigger for row
The immediate trigger for the latest row was a February 3 meeting convened at the DMK’s Puducherry headquarters by party MP and state election in-charge S Jagathrakshakan, along with the organiser R Siva. Leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) attended, but Congress was conspicuously not invited.
Sources said VCK demanded three seats, CPI four, and CPM two. CPI state secretary Saleem confirmed the discussions, stating the party had expressed interest in contesting four constituencies. CPM coordinator Perumal said the party had sought two seats.
Jagathrakshakan defended the meeting, saying he had been appointed Puducherry in-charge by the DMK high command and would meet Congress leaders separately. He maintained that decisions on alliance leadership and seat-sharing would be taken by the party leadership.
DMK sources claimed that the Left parties and VCK prefer DMK leadership in Puducherry, citing the party’s stronger legislative presence (six MLAs vs Congress’s two) and better performance in the 2021 Assembly elections. In the 2021 election, DMK secured around 18 per cent vote share against Congress’s 15 per cent. They also pointed out that DMK workers actively campaigned even in Congress-contested segments during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
Puducherry Congress upset
The exclusion from alliance talks has rattled Puducherry Congress leaders.
Former Chief Minister V Narayanasamy has strongly opposed any move to project S Jagathrakshakan, who belongs to the influential Vanniyar community, as the alliance’s chief ministerial face. Within Tamil Nadu Congress, while state president K Selvaperunthagai and a few others favour continuing with the DMK alliance despite provocations, second-rung leaders are increasingly vocal about perceived insults to the party’s dignity.
Senior Congress leader and former Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy has stressed that the Congress party’s alliance approach in Tamil Nadu must be consistently followed in Puducherry, describing it as the “correct and proper” course. Narayanasamy reacted sharply to the DMK’s recent alliance coordination meeting, which excluded Congress representatives.
“The DMK has convened an alliance meeting in Puducherry while completely bypassing the Congress. Whatever decision the party high command takes on the alliance, the Congress will abide by it,” he told
The Federal. He revealed that the issue was discussed at a recent Congress meeting in Delhi, attended by the party president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
“In that meeting, we clearly stated that the same stance the party adopts over the alliance in Tamil Nadu should also be followed in Puducherry. That is the right approach,” Narayanasamy emphasised.
Rift widens
Political observers noted that the DMK’s actions are seen by some as a calculated attempt to marginalise a weakening Congress not just in Tamil Nadu but across the INDIA bloc.
With both parties publicly staking claim to alliance leadership in Puducherry and with seat-sharing talks yet to formally begin, the rift appears to be widening. Congress insists its higher historical vote share (Tagore cited 2014 figures of 26 per cent) entitles it to lead, while DMK counters with current legislative strength and recent electoral performance.
Senior leaders on both sides maintained that the national leadership of the INDIA alliance will eventually intervene.
However, with elections around the corner and TVK’s growing presence adding pressure on the Tamil Nadu front, the coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether the DMK-Congress partnership survives or fractures further.
