Since there are no permanent enemies in politics, it is not surprising that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Congress have formed an alliance prior to the impending assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. They were not breaking bread since the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance decided to vote in favour of the resolution against Sri Lanka in the United Nations in 2013. Even before that, the DMK-Congress alliance at the Centre had been severely weighed down by the corruption allegations against DMK leaders and ministers. The Congress, consequently, fought the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu alone in 2014, by which time it was obvious that it would lose the game at the Centre. The assembly polls in the state are fought on very different issues and that is why it makes sense for the two parties to come together. As the contest continues to be a two-cornered fight between the two main Dravida parties, each commanding around 25 per cent of the voting percentage, victory usually goes to the party which manages to ally with other parties that bring to it the maximum percentage of the remaining vote share. With a shrinking vote share, the Congress in Tamil Nadu is not considered a trump card, unlike the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, which remains attractive despite its recent reverses. For the DMK, however, something is better than nothing. Its other preferred ally, the Pattali Makkal Katchi, harbours big ambitions that clashes with the DMK's own, and the smaller parties usually gravitate towards the one they see as the likely winner. Given that the DMK is still floundering with divided loyalties, family problems, a lacklustre leadership and lack of focus, it is obviously not the best choice for them. The Bharatiya Janata Party could have brought some add-on benefits. But it has its own plans of trying to emerge as a third contender for power.

With their chips down, both the DMK and the Congress are thus trying to work around a bad situation. Given that its rump has already been fashioned into G.K. Vasan's Tamil Maanila Congress, which might ally with the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the state Congress knows that its viability will be severely tested in the coming elections. It used to kick up a fuss over seat allotment. This time, the Congress might actually be relieved if other parties walk into the alliance to share the burden.