'We Don't Abandon Allies In Tough Times': Akhilesh Yadav's Veiled Dig At Congress For Dumping DMK

Last Updated:May 08, 2026, 12:23 IST

The political uncertainty in Tamil Nadu deepened after the Congress offered conditional support to Vijay’s TVK to form the government, formally ending its alliance with the DMK

A day after the Congress snapped ties with the DMK and extended support to actor-politician Vijay’s TVK in Tamil Nadu, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday took a sharp but indirect swipe at the grand old party, underscoring his commitment to standing by allies during difficult times.

Yadav’s remarks came amid churn within the opposition INDIA bloc and a day after he met Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata following the Trinamool Congress’ setback in West Bengal.

Sharing photographs on X with Mamata Banerjee and DMK president MK Stalin, Yadav wrote in Hindi, “We are not the ones who abandon each other in times of difficulty," a comment widely seen as a veiled attack on the Congress’ decision to walk away from the DMK.

Tamil Nadu Govt Formation

The political uncertainty in Tamil Nadu deepened after the Congress offered conditional support to Vijay’s TVK to form the government, formally ending its alliance with the DMK.

The April 23 Assembly elections threw up a fractured mandate, with the TVK emerging as the single largest party but falling short of a majority in the 234-member House.

With the backing of five Congress MLAs, the TVK-led front has reached 112 seats, still six short of the majority mark of 118, making the role of smaller parties crucial in the days ahead.

Left Parties And VCK Hold The Key

Attention has now turned to the Left parties and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). Meetings of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India are underway in Chennai to decide their next course of action.

Both Left parties hold two seats each in the Assembly, while the VCK also has two MLAs.

Later on Friday, leaders of the CPI(M) and CPI are expected to meet the VCK leadership to take a final call on supporting the TVK.

If all three parties back Vijay, his alliance would comfortably cross the halfway mark.

On Thursday night, TVK Joint General Secretary C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, along with senior party leaders, met CPI leaders in Chennai to seek their support.

Earlier, CPI(M) leader P Shanmugam confirmed that his party had received a letter from Vijay and said the matter would be discussed at the state committee meeting.

The unfolding impasse has also sparked a debate over the Governor’s role.

Left leaders have argued that, as the leader of the single largest party, Vijay should be invited to form the government. Shanmugam criticised the Governor’s reported reluctance, calling references to a High Court order “misplaced."

Echoing the sentiment, the CPI’s Tamil Nadu unit said it was inappropriate to insist that the TVK prove its majority before the swearing-in ceremony, noting that the electorate had clearly made the party the largest stakeholder in the Assembly.

The flurry of negotiations comes against the backdrop of a historic verdict that has disrupted Tamil Nadu’s three-decade-old DMK-AIADMK duopoly, with the TVK’s rise reshaping the state’s political landscape and testing opposition unity at the national level.

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