Chennai/New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday broke its 11-year-old alliance with the DMK and tried its hand behind the TVK, deepening the rift in the India faction after the DMK’s defeat in Tamil Nadu. AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar met TVK chief C Joseph Vijay and promised the support of five Congress MLAs. “The Congress-TVK alliance will continue for the local body elections and 2029 Lok Sabha elections,” Chodankar said. The change re-draws the state’s political map and blunts the United Front’s India Bloc’s pitch against the BJP. The Congress presented its support as a move to “keep communal forces at bay”. “Is the Indian faction still alive?”. a senior Congress leader asked, citing differences with regional partners. Su Thirunavukkarasar said, “We are still unsure about the numbers to form the government in Tamil Nadu. We will focus on the India block after this.” DMK leaders hit back calling the move a stab in the back.Read this also ‘Back stabbers’: Open opposition to Indian faction; DMK attacks ally Congress for supporting TVK’s victory in Tamil Nadu AICC spokesperson Pawan Kheda, recalling DMK breaking ties with Congress in 2013, dismissed the allegation as unfair. Defending the alliance with TVK formed in 2024, he said, “The two parties fight together to stop the rot. If we can form a government with like-minded parties, then what is wrong in that.” The result comes as two key allies – the DMK and the Trinamool Congress – have lost the recent assembly elections, raising perceptions of an unstable alliance. Political observers warned that this would affect the unity of the group. Commentator Suguna Diwakar said, “Congress is adopting a stubborn attitude with allies… This trend will weaken a united opposition for the BJP in 2029.” The change may make regional partners wary of the Congress prioritizing its electoral calculations over alliance arithmetic. Congress leaders said that if TVK is included in the Indian structure, the gamble may prove costly. The tension of the day was evident when Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi reached out to both DMK chief MK Stalin and Vijay after the results, as the Congress tried to manage the state-level realignment without limiting the broader anti-BJP platform. The DMK’s long, uneven partnership with the Congress – formed, broken and revived several times – is now facing its sharpest rupture in years, though signs suggest it may still remain within the India tent at the national level.