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The DMK leader also took a swipe at the Congress’s organisational strength in the state, alleging it had a weak cadre base and struggled to field booth agents across constituencies
File photo of Congress leader Manickam Tagore. (PTI)
A sharp war of words has broken out within the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu after the Congress renewed its demand for a “share in power” in the state government, triggering a public spat between Congress MPs and a senior DMK leader.
The latest flashpoint saw DMK MLA and Madurai urban district secretary G. Thalapathi target Congress MPs B. Manickam Tagore (Virudhunagar) and S. Jothimani (Karur) for raising the power-sharing issue. Addressing a public meeting on Sunday, Thalapathi said the DMK high command should deny Tagore and Jothimani tickets in future Lok Sabha elections, accusing them of creating trouble despite benefiting from the INDIA bloc alliance.
Thalapathi said while the DMK had stood firm against the BJP’s agenda, Congress leaders were raking up unnecessary demands. “While they both have become MPs with the support of the INDIA bloc, they were not bothered about anyone from the Congress becoming MLAs, and are now raising the issue of share in power,” he said. Claiming that the INDIA bloc’s very existence depended on leaders like M.K. Stalin, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, he asserted, “Without the DMK, there is no INDIA bloc.”
The DMK leader also took a swipe at the Congress’s organisational strength in the State, alleging it had a weak cadre base and struggled to field booth agents across constituencies.
Reacting strongly, Manickam Tagore said he would press Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge to field a Congress candidate in the Madurai North Assembly constituency, currently represented by Thalapathi, in the next Assembly elections. In a social media post, Tagore said the move was meant to “teach a lesson to ‘some’ and to protect self-respect,” adding that alliance partners could no longer remain silent in the face of arrogance by those in power.
Karur MP S. Jothimani also hit back, saying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would decide the party’s candidates and that no one had sought Thalapathi’s advice. She said the Congress would not remain a “spectator” to repeated public disrespect, adding that while the party had stayed silent for the sake of alliance dharma and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, such issues needed to be addressed with dignity to avoid putting the Chief Minister in a delicate position.
January 27, 2026, 10:09 IST
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