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With the polling for 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu scheduled on 23 April, DMK chief M.K. Stalin and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi not sharing the stage together for campaigning in the southern state has raised eyebrows, with many questioning if all is well in the alliance.
Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is yet to start his campaigning in Tamil Nadu, where Stalin and other DMK leaders are campaigning aggressively to try and return to power for the second consecutive term. This has led to questions being asked.
Some Congress sources indicate that Rahul Gandhi has till now maintained a distance from campaigning as the seat-sharing formula was finalised very late and the party named candidates only by April 3.
The sources indicate that as polling in the state is due only on 23 April, there is still time left for him to campaign and he will be reaching the state soon after 13 April.
The Congress is already chalking out his campaign programme.
The sources say that Rahul Gandhi is likely to address at least two joint public meetings with Stalin, whom he has dubbed as his brother on a number of occasions.
Interestingly, during his previous visit to adjoining Puducherry, where polling concluded on 9 April, Rahul Gandhi campaigned in the morning while Stalin campaigned in the evening. Despite being in the same place, they did not share the stage.
At the time, party leaders had rejected all claims of differences among the two leaders, saying that the joint campaign did not take place because of Rahul Gandhi’s schedule. He also had to go to Keralam for campaigning in the afternoon and evening and thus the joint programme did not materialise. However, both sought votes for their respective candidates in Puducherry.
Some sources indicate that differences have emerged between the two leaders over some Congress leaders pushing for an alliance with actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK instead of with the DMK.
Sources also say that the issue of powersharing in the state government—raised by several Congress leaders—has played a role in making cracks surface ahead of the crucial polls.
However, the Congress leadership, including CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, in discussions with Rahul Gandhi, have stated that they will remain with their old and trusted partner DMK in the Assembly polls, citing that they are important partners of the I.N.D.I.A bloc.
Meanwhile, another Congress insider pointed out that the DMK and its other alliance partners have hit the ground running in the southern state, but the Congress is yet to heat up its campaigning in any of the 28 constituencies it is contesting from.
The source said that while DMK workers are clearly taking the lead in canvassing for votes, the contribution by Congress functionaries and grassroots workers is minimal.
The relationship between the Congress and the DMK, the insider claimed, is currently quite strained, with a distinct lack of camaraderie between the two parties.
The party insider also explained how in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls Rahul Gandhi had campaigned extensively in Tamil Nadu and how even Stalin joined the start of the Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress leader on September 7, 2022.
In fact, Stalin, along with DMK leaders including Kanimozhi and others, had joined Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar during the Bihar elections in August 2025.
The source also claimed that during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it was Stalin who had publicly projected Rahul Gandhi as the I.N.D.I.A bloc prime ministerial candidate.
The party insider said that it is now time for the Congress leader to hit the ground running in Tamil Nadu before it is too late for the two partners, as even a single day delay is giving an edge to the opponents in the state, where the fight may have become triangular due to the presence of Vijay.
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