After skipping a crucial meeting of the opposition INDIA alliance on Monday, the DMK confirmed that it is no longer a part of the coalition, while also asserting that a separate "strong, secular" anti-BJP force might form in the future.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, shortly after the INDIA alliance concluded a meeting of its constituents in New Delhi, DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan said his party has decided to part ways with the coalition because of the actions of the Congress.
He also claimed that several parties have already distanced themselves from the coalition, leading the DMK to choose a similar path.
"Three of our allies (Congress, IUML, VCK) are now part of the TVK government. It means that they are no longer in the INDIA bloc. The AAP has already left and we are not in that alliance now," Elangovan said.
The DMK was a policy-driven party, though it may share common goals with other parties over opposing the BJP.
The party would now operate independently, basing future decisions on its own state-level committee meetings rather than collective alliance directives, the spokesperson said.
He also stated that a "strong, secular, and anti-BJP alliance may form in the future" and that the DMK would monitor the decisions made by other opposition parties in Delhi to determine if there is any common ground to support.
Recently, the party had announced that it would boycott the meeting of INDIA bloc constituents in New Delhi on Monday as the actions of the Congress have "deeply affected the sentiments of the DMK members."
Describing the grand old party severing ties with the DMK and joining the C Joseph Vijay-led TVK government in a post-poll alliance as "betrayal," the DMK said in a statement recently that it would respect the sentiments of its cadres and boycott today's meeting attended by the Congress.
Meanwhile, CPI state secretary M Veerapandian underscored the need to strengthen the alliance at the national level.
"We insist that the largest democratic party, DMK, should continue in the INDIA bloc. Some parties that were in the DMK alliance have left and joined the TVK government, whereas we are supporting from outside," he told reporters here.
(With inputs from PTI)