NEW DELHI: In a sign of deepening tensions within the Opposition INDIA bloc, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Friday formally requested a separate seating arrangement for its Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha as the party's alliance with Congress has come to an end.
In a letter addressed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, DMK parliamentary party leader K. Kanimozhi said the party’s MPs could no longer continue sharing benches with Congress members in the House in view of the changed political atmosphere.
“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,” Kanimozhi wrote.
She further urged the Speaker to make necessary arrangements for separate seating for DMK MPs so they could “effectively discharge their responsibilities in the August House.”
The development comes days after the Congress ended its decades-old alliance with the DMK and extended support to actor politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu.
The move is being seen as a major political realignment in the state. Congress leaders have indicated that their support for TVK would be conditional, though the party has also hinted at a longer-term partnership with Vijay’s outfit.
If the TVK-led alliance comes to power in Tamil Nadu, Congress could return to power-sharing in the state for the first time since 1967. The DMK has reacted sharply to Congress’s decision, with leaders from the Dravidian party accusing its former ally of “backstabbing.”
The party has also passed a resolution condemning Congress’s move to side with the TVK.
The fallout is also being viewed as a setback for the INDIA bloc, of which the DMK has been one of the strongest pillars and the fourth largest contributor to the alliance’s Lok Sabha strength.
The split could further weaken opposition unity at the national level, especially at a time when the bloc has already been struggling with internal differences and electoral setbacks following the 2024 general elections.
Amid the growing tensions, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav appeared to send a message of solidarity to the DMK.
In a post on X on Friday, accompanied by photographs with DMK president M.K. Stalin and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, he wrote, “We are not the ones who abandon each other in times of difficulty.”
The comment is likely to be closely watched by Congress leaders, particularly as the party hopes to renew its alliance with the Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The widening cracks within the INDIA bloc are expected to affect opposition coordination both inside and outside Parliament, raising questions about the alliance's future.