DMK president and Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday fully endorsed the Congress plenary’s resolve “to work together with like-minded political parties”, saying it was “very, very necessary” in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“This (the resolution adopted at the recent Raipur plenary) is the ideal birthday present you have given me,” Stalin said, turning to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at a huge rally organised by the DMK here to mark the chief minister’s 70th birthday. Kharge made it clear that “we are not talking about who will be the Prime Minister”.
Stalin said the coming general election was more about “who should not form the next government, rather than who should form the government”. Stalin recalled his suggestion to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at a Salem rally in 2021 that he should take the lead to form a strong, pan-India alliance and added: “All parties should give up their differences and rally against the BJP.”
The DMK leader emphasised that “talk of a Third Front is pointless”, adding: “I appeal to all the parties to understand this simple political arithmetic.”
A post-poll alliance will not work, Stalin said, iterating that “all political parties should rise above their differences and stand together as a united force to defeat the BJP” in the 2024 elections. Sharing a platform with key Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Stalin told the parties, including the Congress, that they could smell victory only if unity among all like-minded Opposition parties fructified now.
It is imperative to “politically defeat the fascist and divisive politics of the BJP” in the upcoming polls, which will be possible only if all the Opposition parties come together, he added.
Kharge said the Congress “is prepared to work together with like-minded political parties to protect the Constitution in letter and spirit”. He said the issue now was not “who will lead or who will not lead (the next government at the Centre). We want to fight unitedly together and this is our desire”.
Although the Congress had lost in the past fighting this battle, “we still have to unitedly fight the divisive forces”, Kharge underscored.
Expressing anguish that India was going through a very difficult situation, Abdullah said what was common between Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir was this “desire to live together to build a strong India”.
Asserting that all the religions in the country were “part of the nation” and that they have not come from outside, Abdullah said that whether it was Hindus, Muslims, Christians or Sikhs, “all belong to India”. Felicitating Stalin as “the proud son of a great father (M. Karunanidhi)”, Abdullah said he took the occasion to “demand” of Stalin and other Opposition party leaders that “we need to work together”, to wake up to the reality and to make people live with dignity and peace.
“The nation needs people who can work together. Let us forget who is going to be the Prime Minister; first, let us win and then we can decide the PM,” Abdullah said, expressing the hope that the “strength” to build a better India would arise from Stalin’s birthday rally in Chennai.
Akhilesh said Stalin “would rise to great political heights and national prominence once again”. Tejashwi said the RJD and the DMK were on the same page in emphasising economic development with social justice.
“This rally is a meeting ground of parties with socialist and social justice background,” he said. He, too, appealed to all the Opposition parties to come together again.
“All our leaders should call a meeting on a single platform and we should fight the NDA together,” he said, adding that electorally defeating the BJP was not a big task if “all Opposition parties came together”.