In an interview with TNIE’s S Kumaresan and Pon Vasanth B A, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai says that while VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan, who is opposed to PMK joining the DMK-led alliance, can decide what is good for his party, the DMK president and leader of the alliance Chief Minister MK Stalin can decide who can be welcomed into the alliance. He also spoke about the AIADMK-BJP alliance and the long-term measures he is implementing to strengthen the TNCC at the grassroots level.
Edited Excerpts:
Your recent meeting with PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss raised eyebrows. Later, you said you would welcome PMK joining the DMK-led alliance for the 2026 Assembly elections.
As I said earlier, my meeting with Dr Ramadoss was purely a courtesy call. But if you ask how there could be no politics, then yes, both of us are politicians and I am a leader of a party. We would have discussed everything. However, only DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin, the leader of our alliance in Tamil Nadu, is in a position to decide on the alliance.
The DMK president has said many times that the present alliance is not merely an electoral formation, but an ideological alliance with a united voice on key issues like federalism and secularism. Would the inclusion of PMK, which sided with the BJP even in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, be organic?
Has PMK not been part of the DMK alliance in 2006 and 2011? When it comes to politics, we can never say things are permanent. Parties are contesting from different platforms at different times.
VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan has been vocal about their reluctance and has even said the VCK would leave if PMK entered the alliance. Would your suggestion not put your existing long-standing ally in a difficult spot?
Thirumavalavan has every right to decide for his party, whether to be in the alliance or not and how to face the election. At the same time, the DMK president has the right to decide on who can be included or not. We should acknowledge that VCK, PMK and Congress were part of the DMK alliance in the 2011 Assembly elections.
But the chasm between the VCK and PMK widened only after that, with the riots in Dharmapuri (2012) and Marakkanam (2013) and PMK accusing Scheduled Caste youths of enacting “nadaga kathal” (fake love) and even forming a coalition of caste organisations against inter-caste marriages...
In their (VCK) perspective, it is right. But from a broader perspective, even if you look at global politics, Japan is an ally of the US even though the latter dropped two nuclear bombs in Japan (during World War II).
Importantly, Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar, who both VCK and I consider as our leader, advocated for Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to unite to capture political power even way back in 1936 when he launched the Independent Labour Party (ILP). He was against the sharpening of contradictions between the two. He reiterated the same on April 25, 1948 at a conference in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh).
Leave the two parties (VCK and PMK) aside. The Adi Dravidars (SC) and OBCs should be united is my perspective and desire.
Besides this long-term goal, do you think PMK is needed in the DMK-led alliance for it to win the 2026 elections?
The CM will decide whether they are needed or not. I am not in a position to say that. Today, we have VCK and PMK. What about 25, 50 or 100 years down the line? I am talking for the future generations of the two communities.
At the same time, I want to emphasise that the present INDI alliance remains strong and intact.
How do you see the BJP’s political mobilisation in Tamil Nadu?
They are trying to divide people through the Murugan conference (held last month in Madurai) and such initiatives. It is dangerous, but will not succeed.
Will the AIADMK-BJP alliance be able to put up a tough fight?
I have been saying that their alliance is full of contradictions. How did the AIADMK join the alliance after saying that they would never ally with the BJP, citing criticisms levelled against their late leaders J Jayalalithaa and MGR. The party cadre won’t accept it. Former AIADMK ministers were sitting idle when Periyar (Periyar EV Ramasamy) and Anna (CN Annadurai) were insulted at the recent Murugan conference. They are also differing about the idea of coalition government.
As the state president of a national party, what is your take on the demand for coalition governments in Tamil Nadu?
As state president, I cannot decide on such policy matters. Only the All India Congress Committee can decide (on power sharing, seat sharing). They will discuss with the DMK and decide during elections.
Though the AIADMK-BJP alliance has contradictions in your view, they are trying to rally around allegations of corruption and deteriorating law and order against the DMK government. Won’t it resonate with the people?
It will not. Look at the statistics and compare the present situation with the number of murders, custodial deaths, and riots that happened during the previous AIADMK regime. They have definitely come down.
However, such incidents should be completely avoided in my view. Law and order situation should be improved further. Custodial deaths should never happen. The government cannot become complacent because the numbers have come down.
There is a perception that Congress is not strongly taking up protests on issues of public importance, unlike your other allies, like the CPM, in Tamil Nadu’s context…
We are continuously protesting on important issues. Which issue have we ignored? In the recent custodial death (in Sivaganga), we have issued a strong statement. We supported the workers of Samsung India in their protest and urged the state government to find a solution. You can either attack the government or take up the issues in a congenial manner to get them resolved. We are doing the latter.
Since taking charge as TNCC president in February 2024, you have shown keenness to strengthen the party at the grassroots level. What is the progress?
We began diligently working on revamping the village-level committees, by appointing functionaries at panchayat-level, including presidents, secretaries and executive committees. We have already covered 72% of the roughly 12,500 villages in Tamil Nadu.
Importantly, hitherto, we did not have a database of our functionaries at the village-level. Now, we are issuing identity cards with QR-codes to all of them and their details are captured in a database.
Inspired by our model, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has now instructed other state units to follow suit. This initiative is transforming TNCC from a party with mass support to a structured, cadre-based organisation.
It’s been over 1.5 years since you became TNCC president. Yet, many district and state-level positions remain vacant.
All vacant posts will be filled soon. A list of names has already been sent to the AICC.
Are you taking steps to implement the Udaipur Declaration of AICC in 2022, which included “one person one post” and other such reformative measures?
Yes. TNCC has passed resolutions twice in our executive meetings, supporting the declaration. Measures to implement them are under way and announcements will be made in three months. There is support from the vast majority of the leaders and functionaries.
Unlike certain other parties with an assured vote-bank, Congress appears to struggle in Tamil Nadu in identifying or creating a core voter base.
Congress is a party for everyone — youth, the elderly, trans persons, persons with disabilities, and minorities. We are identifying our base and developing outreach strategies accordingly. It has a committed vote bank.
But we failed to consolidate it properly in the past. Importantly, the youth of Tamil Nadu admire our leader Rahul Gandhi. Wherever we launch an initiative featuring his image prominently, people automatically show great enthusiasm. Once the restructuring of village committees is over, we’re planning a mega conference with over a lakh attendees, for which we will invite him.
The problem is our ideology says we are a party for all. But if we have leaders and functionaries who love all communities without considering anyone as being above or below, we will certainly see a big reemergence in Tamil Nadu.
What about new parties trying to claim the legacy of late Congress leader and Chief Minister K Kamaraj?
Some are trying to create confusion. Anyone can borrow Kamaraj’s name, but the legacy belongs only to the Congress family.