DMK Distances Itself From India Bloc, Opts Out Of June 8 Opposition Meeting In Delhi

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has announced that it will not participate in the INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for June 8 in Delhi.

The party on Thursday, in a social media post, announced that it will "not participate in the INDIA alliance meeting in Delhi on June 8, where the Congress is taking part!"

According to reports, around 15 Opposition parties are expected to attend the meeting, including the main Opposition party, Congress, to take on the BJP-led government and reinforce Opposition unity.

Speaking to news agency ANI, DMK leader TKS Elangovan said, "We are no more in the INDIA bloc, and that is why we are not attending the meeting..."

Blaming the Congress party for breaking the alliance with the DMK in the state, he said, "Congress stated that they are going with TVK and that they will fight the local body elections and the next Parliament elections also with TVK. This means they are not with us. The Congress stated that they are parting ways with the DMK. Which means how can we continue in the INDIA bloc? That is why we said we are not going. They have five MLAs who have won in our alliance. We had given them a Rajya Sabha seat. After that, these MLAs did not even come and thank our leader."

"They said that we are going with TVK and said that we are no longer in the alliance with the DMK. Then it will definitely hurt the cadres. They have also worked for them. In 28 constituencies, they have worked for them... That is why we are not attending the meeting... Let us see how many parties of the INDIA bloc are participating in the meeting," he added.

According to reports, the leaders who are expected to attend the meeting include TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.

The development comes after a major political realignment in Tamil Nadu following the Assembly elections. The Congress ended its long-standing alliance with the DMK and extended support to the government headed by actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay and his party, TVK.

The move marked the end of years of cooperation between the Congress and the DMK, triggering a war of words between the former allies.

Meanwhile, the AAP has already publicly withdrawn from the Opposition bloc and is unlikely to participate in the meeting, which is slated to be held at the Constitution Club.