Amid growing strain in its ties with the DMK after joining the newly formed TVK-led government in Tamil Nadu, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president Thol Thirumavalavan has called for a DMK-TVK collaboration to counter the BJP at the national level.
Pitching for a broader anti-BJP front, Thirumavalavan said there was a need to build a national alliance against the BJP and "communal politics", suggesting a model in which regional rivals cooperate nationally, similar to political arrangements seen in Kerala and West Bengal.
"In the front, both the DMK and TVK should find a place," the VCK chief had said while speaking to reporters in Ariyalur recently.
The DMK, however, rejected the proposal outright. Party MP Ganapathy Rajkumar said such a split-alliance model would not work in Tamil Nadu, maintaining that the DMK would not share a platform with the TVK, which has declared the party its principal political rival.
The remarks come amid widening differences between the former allies after the Congress, IUML and VCK joined the TVK government following the DMK's defeat in the April Assembly election. The Left parties have extended unconditional support to the government.
Escalating the political confrontation, Thirumavalavan on Sunday accused the MK Stalin-led DMK of mishandling its allies and said its refusal to share power contributed to its electoral defeat.
"Had the DMK announced that it was ready for a coalition government and had respected the sentiments of its allies by giving them a satisfactory number of seats and constituencies they had asked for, then it might not have suffered such a major setback," the VCK chief said.
He also accused the DMK of attempting to weaken the VCK by inducting former party legislator Panaiyur Babu.
"It was done to weaken our party. Even if some VCK functionaries had voluntarily approached the DMK, they should have been turned away. That is political ethics," Thirumavalavan charged.
Speaking in Thanjavur, the VCK leader expressed concern over what he described as the weakening of Dravidian politics, arguing that the DMK's isolation and the AIADMK's internal fragmentation had created space for the BJP and the RSS to expand their influence in Tamil Nadu.
He warned that if regional parties failed to remain a strong opposition, the State could witness a political shift similar to that seen in Delhi or West Bengal.
"Political parties should be vigilant against the BJP because they are attempting to enter Tamil Nadu politics by wearing a mask or adopting the face of the RSS. If the BJP were to enter with its own genuine identity, it would not be successful in the state," he said.
Backing Thirumavalavan's stand, VCK leader Vanni Arasu, speaking in Sattur, said the BJP had a history of using breakaway groups before eventually reabsorbing them. He cited the examples of former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti, both of whom floated separate parties after differences with the BJP before returning to the party in 2014.
Vanni Arasu also described K. Annamalai's "We the Leaders" initiative as a "proxy" for the BJP and alleged that the saffron party was a "malicious force" that acts against the Indian Constitution and the interests of the people.
(With inputs from PTI)