Estranged Congress ally DMK announced in Chennai on Thursday that it would skip the INDIA bloc meeting here on Monday.
The DMK’s statement came a day after the ruling TVK ceded the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state that is up for grabs on June 18 to Praveen Chakravarty, nominated by the Congress. He had facilitated the Congress’s switch from the DMK alliance to the TVK.
The Congress had dumped the DMK after the polls and joined the TVK government along with INDIA partners VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League.
The DMK said: “Out of respect for the feelings of party comrades who are deeply hurt by the betrayal committed by the Congress party against the DMK after the Assembly elections in TN, the DMK will not participate in the INDIA alliance meeting to be held in Delhi on June 8, i.e. the meeting in which the Congress will participate.
“The DMK will always voice its opinion on issues affecting the national interest raised by other parties present at this meeting, even though they did not participate in this meeting.”
The TVK has yet to announce its participation.
The INDIA bloc has worked on the Soviet “united front” principle of “March Separately, Strike Together” — a phrase coined by Leon Trotsky in 1931 and promoted by late CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury. This has allowed the Left, Trinamool and the Congress, which fight each other, to be part of the bloc.
Cong picks
The Congress has fielded its president and Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, publicity head Pawan Khera and secretary for Kerala and Lakshadweep Mansoor Ali Khan for the Upper House polls from Karnataka. From Rajasthan, the party has fielded incumbent Neeraj Dangi. The party’s Telangana in-charge, Meenakshi Natarajan, will Digvijaya Singh’s seat from Madhya Pradesh. Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s aide Pranav Jha has been fielded from Jharkhand.