AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, TNCC president K. Selvaperunthagai, Congress Legislature Party leader S. Rajeshkumar and other Congress leaders met Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president C. Joseph Vijay at the TVK headquarters in Panaiyur and extended their support to the party. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The Congress on Wednesday (6 May 2026) formally announced an alliance with actor C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) “based on mutual respect, equitable sharing and shared responsibility between the two parties”.
The party thus unilaterally severed its more than two-decade-old ties with the DMK in Tamil Nadu. The two parties came together before the 2004 Lok Sabha polls and their relationship has remained largely intact except for a brief separation during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar announced this in a press release and said the alliance is not only for the formation of this government but also for future elections to local bodies, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
He said the decision was taken after Mr. Vijay, whose party fell short of a majority in the recent Assembly elections, formally sought the support of the Indian National Congress (INC) in Tamil Nadu.
As previously reported by The Hindu, the press release said, “Our support will be conditional on TVK keeping out of this alliance any communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution of India.”
Mr Chodankar said TVK and the Tamil Nadu Congress would strive to bring back “the glorious days of Perunthalaivar Kamaraj in Tamil Nadu, with a strong commitment to the social justice ideals of Thanthai Periyar and the constitutional ideals of Dr BR Ambedkar in the coming years and decades.”
“Mr Vijay and Shri Rahul Gandhi jointly pledge to respect this historic verdict of the people of Tamil Nadu on a secular and progressive government and fulfill the dreams and promises of the people – especially the youth of Tamil Nadu,” the party said.
Published – May 6, 2026 1:11 PM IST
