Chennai, May 6: Congress MP Jothimani defended her party’s alliance with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu, calling the formation and dissolution of political alliances “natural.” She recalled how DMK had expelled Congress from its alliance in 2014, forcing it to contest alone, a move Congress did not harshly criticize at the time.

Highlighting the “ups and downs” in alliances, Jothimani said the partnership with TVK aims to serve Tamil Nadu’s welfare. She stressed that parting ways with DMK should happen with “mutual respect” and that Congress does not indulge in extreme criticism of former allies, even after DMK’s electoral defeat.

Jothimani also addressed Congress’s past parliamentary setbacks, emphasizing that these should not prevent the party from leading the national INDIA bloc. She underlined the strength of party leader Rahul Gandhi and vowed to defend his reputation.

The Congress-TVK alliance, with a combined 113 seats, is still short of the 118-seat majority. TVK has also approached AIADMK’s Edappadi K Palaniswami for support. DMK criticized Congress for the decision, calling it “myopic” and a betrayal of the INDIA alliance.