Tamil Nadu Congress President K. Selvaperunthagai and state in-charge Girish Chodankar met TVK chief Vijay at the TVK headquarters in Chennai on Wednesday, officially confirming their support for the newly formed party in its bid to form the next government in Tamil Nadu. With Congress holding five seats and TVK securing 108 seats, the combined strength of the alliance has reached 113 seats, still falling short of the 118-seat majority by five seats. To overcome this gap, TVK has reportedly reached out to AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, whose party has won 47 seats in the assembly election. If AIADMK joins the arrangement, it would comfortably push the alliance beyond the halfway mark.

The Congress party had formally announced its full backing for Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and its leader Vijay, marking a significant political shift as it distanced itself from its long-standing ally DMK in the state’s power contest. In its debut electoral performance, TVK, led by actor-turned-politician Vijay, delivered a strong showing, outperforming expectations and challenging the dominance of established Dravidian parties like DMK and AIADMK. The result has been widely seen as a major disruption in Tamil Nadu politics.

A formal letter signed by Tamil Nadu Congress in-charge Girish Chodankar stated that the electorate had delivered a “clear, strong and overwhelming” mandate in favour of TVK under Vijay’s leadership. It further noted that both the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legislative Party had resolved to extend complete support to TVK in forming the government.

The decision has sparked criticism from DMK leaders. Senior DMK figure Saravanan Annadurai described Congress’s move as “short-sighted and myopic,” accusing the party of betraying INDIA alliance partners. He warned that such a shift could damage Congress’s credibility nationally, arguing that it sends a message of instability and unreliability in coalition politics. He also suggested that Congress may regret the decision in the long run, especially ahead of future national elections. The evolving political realignment has added fresh uncertainty to Tamil Nadu’s post-election scenario, with negotiations still ongoing and alliance equations yet to be fully settled.