Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, announced on Saturday that it has formally joined the INDIA alliance. Two representatives from the party participated in an alliance meeting held at the Congress headquarters, Sathyamurthy Bhavan, in Chennai.
TVK General Secretary (Election Management) Aadav Arjun and Finance Minister Mary Wilson represented the party in the two-hour-long meeting. The DMK had left the INDIA alliance following the Tamil Nadu assembly elections earlier this year, after the Congress joined the TVK-led government.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has joined the INDIA alliance
The alliance decided to stage district-level protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. TNCC President Manickam Tagore stated, “Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has joined the INDIA alliance,” describing it as a “very historic day” for the coalition. He added that a resolution welcoming Vijay’s decision was passed during the meeting.
Tagore described Vijay as a popular leader committed to democracy and secularism, noting that TVK’s inclusion would strengthen the alliance. Aadav stated that TVK’s participation serves as a formal announcement that the party is part of the coalition.
The alliance plans to hold protests at district headquarters across the state and demand the removal of the CEC for acting in a “one-sided and illegal manner” during the SIR process. The parties allege that the names of over 13 crore voters were removed from the electoral rolls due to this revision. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has joined the INDIA alliance (TVK), Congress, VCK, CPI, CPM, IUML, MDMK, and CPI (ML) will participate in the protest scheduled for October 15 in Chennai.
MDMK leader Vaiko stated that Vijay should also participate in the protest. When asked whether TVK would participate in the INDIA alliance’s national-level meeting, Vaiko said that the participation on Saturday was merely the “first step” and that the party would take part in INDIA alliance meetings in the future.
