TIRUCHY: Electoral politics often carries with it its own contradictions. At a time when Congress has extended support to TVK chief Vijay for forming the government, constituency-level results of the Assembly election have reignited the debate on whether a pre-poll alliance between the two parties could have altered the final outcome.
Of the 28 constituencies where the Congress, as part of the DMK-led alliance, directly contested against TVK, the national party finished ahead in four seats. Congress eventually won five constituencies — Vilavancode, Killiyoor and Colachel in Kanniyakumari district, Melur in Madurai district and Mayiladuthurai.
In four of the constituencies, TVK emerged runner-up, while in Mayiladuthurai it slipped to third place, behind PMK. The narrow victory margins in Killiyoor (1,311 votes), Melur (2,724) and Colachel (2,833) reflect how closely fought the contests were despite the larger state-wide momentum witnessed by TVK.
TVK, however, won 19 constituencies against Congress candidates, with victory margins ranging from over 2,500 votes to more than 55,000 votes. Congress finished second in 10 seats and was pushed to third position in several others. In a few constituencies, AIADMK and BJP candidates defeated both Congress and TVK candidates.With TVK falling short of the 118-seat majority mark by 10 seats, and now looking for support from other parties. Several TVK functionaries argue that a pre-poll understanding could have helped the party cross the majority mark on its own.
“The decision of our chief to invite Congress to support to form the government formation is centred on the welfare of Tamil Nadu. Of course, if Congress had fought alongside us, it would have benefited both parties in many constituencies,” said A Maduraiveeran, who lost the Melur constituency to Congress candidate P Viswanathan by 2,724 votes.
Outgoing Congress MLA S Mangudi, who lost the Karaikudi seat to TVK’s Dr TK Prabhu, said many Congress legislators and MPs were hesitant about moving away from DMK just before the elections. “Many of us felt that if Congress wanted to align with TVK, it should have done it well before the election. Leaving DMK and joining the opposite camp at the last moment could have backfired politically,” Mangudi told TNIE. A senior Congress functionary admitted that sections within the party were initially sceptical about the fledgling TVK’s electoral strength.
Throughout the campaign, Vijay had repeatedly described DMK as TVK’s “political enemy” and BJP as its “ideological enemy”, while largely avoiding direct criticism of Congress.
Sources within Congress also acknowledged the party maintained a relatively restrained campaign against TVK, reflecting internal uncertainty over future political equations.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Direct contest between TVK and Congress: 28 seats
Seats won by Congress: 5
Seats won by TVK: 19
Narrow victories by Cong candidates
Killiyoor: 1,311 votes
Melur: 2,724 votes
Colachel: 2,833 votes
TVK’s victory margin range: 2,500 to 55,000+ votes
Congress finished 2nd in 10 seats