Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram stated that the party had informed its former ally, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), before extending support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form the government in Tamil Nadu.
The Congress was the first party to back the TVK, led by actor-politician Vijay, which won 108 seats—10 short of the majority mark—in the recent assembly elections. Subsequently, the VCK, IUML, CPI, and CPI(M)—all former DMK allies—joined the new bloc.
"We want to prevent another election if TVK fails to secure a majority in the House. This was a wider sentiment among alliance partners. Even the people do not want another election," Chidambaram told a TV channel.
He added that the Congress had also informed other alliance partners, including the CPI, VCK, and IUML, about its decision to support the TVK government, and all these parties later extended their support to Vijay.
"The only difference is that we announced our support to TVK one day before the other allies did," he said.
The Congress’s decision to back Vijay had drawn sharp criticism from the DMK, with the party’s youth wing, led by Udhayanidhi Stalin, holding a meeting and passing a resolution accusing Congress of "betrayal."
The Congress has five MLAs in the 234-member assembly, while the VCK, IUML, CPI, and CPI(M) have two MLAs each.
On Saturday, DMK chief M.K. Stalin said his party had allowed the alliance partners to support the TVK in government formation to prevent the imposition of President's rule in the state.
"This government is functioning today thanks to the support of the parties that were part of our alliance—parties that aligned with us because they believed the DMK should come to power," he said.
