‘Should We Be With People Rejected By Verdict,’ Manickam Tagore backs aligning with Vijay

The Congress is ready to end one of its longest standing alliances as it gears up to support TVK and Vijay with its 5 MLAs to form the government in Tamil Nadu.

Congress MP and Senior leader Manickam Tagore whose outburst against the DMK’s denial of power sharing in the state had become the talk of the alliance prior to the polls justified his party’s stand.

“The verdict has gone against the DMK government. Half the ministers in the Cabinet have lost their seats. We faced collateral damage for no fault of ours. Now, BJP is eyeing Tamil Nadu. The question before us is clear, should we stand with those rejected by the people’s verdict, or should we unite with the force that fought against BJP and fight to stop BJP from ruling Tamil Nadu?” he posted on X

Speaking to reporters the senior leader said the mandate of the people needed to be respected. The Congress wants to be the first past the post and stop any possibility of Vijay heading to the AIADMK camp for support.

“As far as we are concerned, our people, the voters of Tamil Nadu–have made a clear decision. Some people had been saying things like, “This won’t suit the soil of Tamil Nadu,” or “Tamil Nadu will not accept a share in governance.” But the people of Tamil Nadu have given their answer. They have made their decision. So, we will see what happens next. As far as I know, I can only say this much. In the meeting I attended yesterday, during the political advisory committee discussion, certain decisions were taken. The announcement regarding those decisions can only be made by Girish Chodankar,” he said.

TVK Chief Vijay had written to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge seeking support and indications are that the Congress has agreed and is likely to pull allies VCK and the Left parties along with it.

“This Assembly election turned into an anti-incumbency election against the DMK government. As a result, up to 15 ministers have been defeated. As far as we are concerned, our alliance is a secular alliance; we are not part of the government. So, we contested as an alliance, but this should be seen as a vote against the ruling government. At the same time, it should also be viewed as a vote against the BJP and the AIADMK, which has become a subordinate party to the BJP. This is because the BJP and AIADMK were aligned, and Narendra Modi and Amit Shah came here from Delhi claiming they would form the government in Tamil Nadu under the NDA. However, even the seats required for them to form the NDA government have reduced. Their total alliance tally has fallen below 50 seats. This clearly shows that the people of Tamil Nadu do not want the BJP to enter the state and that there is no place for communal forces. This election has strongly conveyed that message. It has become evident that the people of Tamil Nadu will not accept communal politics,” Tagore said.

The Congress leader played up what he described was a mandate for an Anti-BJP front which would pave the way for a secular government.

“From our perspective, the people have given the BJP just one seat in this election, and its numbers have declined. This reflects that anti-BJP sentiment has taken strong root in Tamil Nadu. The defeat of the DMK, the loss of the Chief Minister from the DMK, and the mixed outcome for the Congress leadership are all matters of concern. As far as M. K. Stalin is concerned, he is a seasoned politician, and his defeat is indeed unfortunate. Similarly, the defeat of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leadership in Sriperumbudur is also regrettable,” Tagore said.

Another seasoned Congress leader and MP Jothimani who had also made her dissent on Congress’ ticket distribution in the state public slammed the BJP for questioning the Congress’ flip.

“The BJP has no right to speak about the Congress party. Let the BJP remember that from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, they have seized power by destroying all their alliance partners. The list of parties decimated by the BJP–including Assam Gana Parishad, SAD, PDP, JD(S), JD(U), Shiv Sena, HVM, and AIADMK–is very long. Because the BJP is desperate to destroy Tamil Nadu, we have a historical duty to protect it. We do not have the habit of destroying our alliance partners,” she said.

With Rahul Gandhi’s personally calling Vijay on Tuesday night the Congress’ support is a foregone conclusion, now the ball is really in Vjay’s court if he chooses to take the Congress along or opt for fracturing the AIADMK. (ANI)