Tagore underlined that in the UDF, coalition partners contest elections together and continue as governing partners after the results, rejecting what he described as the practice of sidelining allies once votes are counted.
Published Jan 15, 2026 | 8:17 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 15, 2026 | 8:17 AM
Congress MP Manickam Tagore (Wikimedia Commons)
Synopsis: Amid ongoing power-sharing debates in Tamil Nadu and between the Congress and the DMK, Congress MP Manickam Tagore pitched Kerala’s UDF as a model for coalition governance. He said alliances must be based on genuine power-sharing rather than post-election dominance.
Amid ongoing power-sharing debates in Tamil Nadu and between the Congress and the DMK, Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Thursday, 15 January, pitched Kerala’s UDF as a model for coalition governance. He argued that alliances must be based on genuine power-sharing rather than post-election dominance.
In a post on X, Tagore said that the Congress-led UDF in Kerala shows how coalition politics should function both during elections and after coming to power.
While the Congress leads the alliance, he noted, authority is decentralised and shared among partners based on trust, strength and mutual responsibility.
Without directly naming Tamil Nadu’s ruling alliance, his remarks come at a time when questions around power-sharing and equitable representation within alliances — particularly between the Congress and the DMK — have resurfaced in the state’s political discourse.
Tagore underlined that in the UDF, coalition partners contest elections together and continue as governing partners after the results, rejecting what he described as the practice of sidelining allies once votes are counted.
He said parties such as the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Kerala Congress (M) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) have handled key portfolios including finance, education, public works, industries and social welfare, exercising real administrative authority rather than symbolic roles.
Calling it “coalition dharma in practice”, Tagore expressed hope that the UDF’s democratic model would continue to succeed, invoking the Tamil proverb “Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum” (When the month of Thai is born, new ways/opportunities will emerge) to signal optimism for better governance ahead.
While the Congress leadership at the national level has so far refrained from openly demanding a share in power or a role in governance, some Tamil Nadu Congress leaders and MPs have been making such demands publicly, particularly on social media and other open platforms. These statements have triggered unease within the INDIA bloc.
(With inputs from Subash Chandra Bose.)
