Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Chennai: DMK President M K Stalin on Wednesday said the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) in Tamil Nadu was “intact” and continues to remain strong as it was “ideologically weaved” and asked Opposition parties not to nurse any hopes of a split in the combine by misreading “discussions” as “rift.”
Stalin also wondered whether AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has transformed into an “astrologer” for predicting the fall of the seven-year-old alliance, while asking him to “stop daydreaming.” The Chief Minister’s assertion comes amid speculation of fissures within the alliance after differences cropped up between the DMK and its alliance partners on a host of issues, including the strike by Samsung employees.
“I was under the impression that Palaniswami was daydreaming as he said the DMK’s popularity was on the decline. But only now I came to know that he has become an astrologer to predict that the alliance will break soon. I am not sure when he became an astrologer. I could sense his frustration,” Stalin told a wedding event here.
“I would like to categorically tell Palaniswami that the DMK-led alliance was not stitched for elections, not with an aim to come to power. The alliance was weaved ideologically. There will be discussions and debates in our alliance. Don’t think there is a rift. Palaniswami seems to be bothered more about what’s happening in the DMK than his own party,” Stalin added.
The SPA was not just an “ideological alliance” but also “people’s alliance”, Stalin said and exuded confidence that the DMK will return to power in the 2026 assembly elections.
Palaniswami has been maintaining that the DMK alliance was in tatters and that the combine may not stay united till the next elections. On Wednesday, he said the AIADMK will form a “formidable” alliance for the 2026 polls while noting that a “national party” did ask his outfit to come together for the 2024 polls, in an oblique reference to the BJP.
Stalin’s statement is also seen as a reassurance to alliance partners that their concerns will be addressed, and that the electoral and political understanding will continue. Samsung strike and an anti-liquor conference organized by VCK, an ally, led to speculation about a rift in the DMK alliance, but the parties have always dismissed the rumours saying they will continue to fight as one unit.