New Delhi: The growing political distance between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Congress has now finally reached Parliament. The Lok Sabha Secretariat has approved the DMK’s request for a separate seating arrangement in the House, news agency PTI reported citing sources. The development marks a visible sign of the breakdown of ties between the two former allies following the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Although parliamentary seating arrangements are largely procedural, they often carry symbolic political significance. The DMK’s decision to distance itself physically from Congress in the Lok Sabha reflects the changing dynamics of opposition politics and highlights the impact of post-election realignments in Tamil Nadu. With Congress now part of the TVK-led government and the DMK reassessing its future strategy, experts believe the coming months could witness further shifts in political alliances both within Tamil Nadu and at the national level.
The DMK had recently urged the Lok Sabha Secretariat to alter the seating plan for its MPs, arguing that the party’s alliance with Congress had effectively come to an end. The party maintained that continuing to sit alongside Congress members would no longer reflect the current political reality. Following the request, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has granted approval, and a separate seating arrangement for DMK MPs is now being worked out.
The move comes after senior DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi formally approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking a revision in the seating arrangement in light of the changed political equations in Tamil Nadu. The development is being viewed as another indication of the widening gap between the two parties, which had contested the Assembly elections together as part of a pre-poll alliance.
Relations between the DMK and Congress deteriorated sharply after the Assembly election results in Tamil Nadu. Despite contesting the elections as a DMK ally, Congress later decided to support the TVK-led government and became part of the new ruling dispensation. The decision effectively ended its long-standing partnership with the DMK and triggered strong reactions from the regional party. Several senior DMK leaders publicly criticised Congress over the move, describing it as “backstabbing” and “betrayal”. Congress leaders, however, defended their decision and pointed out that the DMK had also chosen to contest elections independently in the past, including in 2014.
