Congress Extends Support to Vijay in TN, Ditches DMK; Dhaka Says It Will Act if West Bengal's New BJP Govt Pushes People Across Border; A 1967 Moment: Not the End but the Beginning of the Real Fight
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Snapshot of the day
May 6, 2026
Sidharth Bhatia
The Indian National Congress has formally extended support to C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form the next government in Tamil Nadu, after Vijay’s formal request for the party’s support. In a statement, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge for Tamil Nadu Girish Chodankar, said that its five elected representatives would back the alliance, adding that its support comes with a clear condition: keeping “communal forces” out of the alliance – framing the mandate as one for a secular, progressive and welfare-oriented government rooted in constitutional values.
It added: “This alliance between the TVK and the Tamil Nadu Congress will strive to bring back Perunthalaivar Kamaraj’s glory days of Tamil Nadu, with a strong commitment to Thanthai Periyar’s social justice ideals and Dr. BR Ambedkar’s constitutional ideals in the years and decades to come. Notably, the statement suggested that this alliance is a long-term partnership between the Congress and the TVK even for local bodies, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elections. “This alliance – founded on mutual respect, appropriate share, and shared responsibility between the two parties is not only for the formation of this government, but also for future elections to the local body organisations, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” it mentioned.
Further, the statement underlined that the TVK chief and Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha (LoP) and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jointly pledge to respect this historic verdict of the people of Tamil Nadu for a secular and progressive government, and to “fulfil the dreams and promises of the people especially the youth of Tamil Nadu”. The move is significant considering the Congress has broken its longstanding alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). It remains to be seen how the INDIA bloc reshapes amidst these changing equations.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that talks are on between the DMK and its traditional arch-rival, the Anna DMK, although they may not fructify. The Hindu reported that the ADMK had sent feelers to the DMK but got short shrift. Speculation is rife about possible action by Union government agencies on the five Congress MLAs who have signed up with Vijay’s TVK.
The current West Bengal assembly’s term – and Mamata Banerjee’s tenure as chief minister – will lapse tomorrow but former chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi points out that the Constitution says a CM can be in office only as long as they enjoy the confidence of the assembly; as the BJP has ascended to power, she and the Trinamool Congress no longer have that confidence. Now that she has refused to resign, although some argue this does not matter because of the automatic expiration of her term, Quraishi argues that it places President’s Rule as an option on the table. Familiar playbook? The less said, the better.
Indian authorities have moved to expel – not deport – people it deems to be undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh by literally pushing them across the border, something Dhaka has long protested as a violation of its sovereignty. So now that the party whose governments have carried out (and in Assam’s case bragged about) such expulsions and which based its West Bengal poll plank on the idea of ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’,
