DMK exits INDIA bloc, keeps door open for anti-BJP alliance
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Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday said it is no longer part of the opposition INDIA bloc, while indicating that a broader secular and anti-BJP alliance could emerge in the future.
Confirming the party's exit from the opposition grouping, DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan said the decision was prompted by developments involving the Congress party and changes within the alliance structure.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Elangovan claimed that several parties had already distanced themselves from the coalition, prompting the DMK to take a similar course.
"Three of our allies — Congress, IUML and VCK — are now part of the TVK government. It means they are no longer in the INDIA bloc. The AAP has already left, and we are not in that alliance now," he said.
Elangovan asserted that the DMK remains a policy-driven party and, while it may share common objectives with other parties in opposing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it would function independently and make political decisions through its own state-level committees rather than through collective alliance mechanisms.
The DMK leader, however, left the door open for future cooperation among opposition parties, saying a "strong, secular and anti-BJP alliance may form in the future."
He added that the party would closely monitor decisions taken by opposition parties at the national level and assess whether there was common ground on issues that warranted support.
The development marks a significant political shift, signalling the DMK's move away from the Congress-led opposition coalition at the national level.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary M. Veerapandian stressed the importance of maintaining and strengthening opposition unity.
"We insist that the largest democratic party, DMK, should continue in the INDIA bloc. Some parties that were in the DMK alliance have left and joined the TVK government, whereas we are supporting from outside," Veerapandian told reporters.
His remarks underline the CPI's view that opposition parties should continue to work together at the national level despite recent realignments within the broader anti-BJP political space.
With PTI inputs