Published May 08, 2026 | 4:05 PM ⚊ Updated May 08, 2026 | 4:25 PM
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi requested changes in the seating arrangements of DMK MPs, stating her party's alliance with the Congress has come to an end.
Synopsis: The DMK severed ties with the Congress, its partner of 22 years, after the latter — which contested the polls as part of the DMK-led alliance — extended support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which emerged as the single-largest party in the election.
The hung verdict in the 23 April Tamil Nadu Assembly elections has led to a political shake-up at the national level, with the DMK seeking to sit as a separate block in the Lok Sabha.
In a letter, dated 7 May, to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, DMK’s parliamentary party leader and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi requested changes in the seating arrangements of DMK MPs in the Lower House.
“In view of the changed political circumstances and as our alliance with the Indian National Congress has come to an end, it may not be appropriate for our members to continue occupying the present seating arrangement alongside them in the House,” she said while requesting separate seating for DMK’s 22 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
The DMK, however, has not mentioned if it would continue in the Opposition INDIA bloc.
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The DMK severed ties with the Congress, its partner of 22 years, after the latter — which contested the polls as part of the DMK-led alliance — extended support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which emerged as the single-largest party in the election.
C Joseph Vijay-led TVK has fallen 10 short of the majority of 118 seats in the 234-member Assembly, prompting the Congress, with five seats, to support him.
The Congress’s decision infuriated the DMK, which has been trying to cobble up an alliance with its rival Dravidian party, the AIADMK.
In a separate development, veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday criticised his party’s “dreadful” move to support the TVK, saying it smacked of “low political opportunism”, which would facilitate the backdoor entry of the BJP into the Dravidian state.
