Tamil Nadu Elections: Rahul Gandhi, Stalin's Visible Distance Triggers Alliance Rift Speculation

Chennai: Elections campaigns are in full swing in Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Tamil Nadu thrice in two months and campaigned for BJP and its allies. He scheduled to visit the state again on April 15. In contrast, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s absence from campaigning in the state is raising many questions, as he has not once campaigned  so far.

Is there trouble in alliance?

Rahul Gandhi's absence has sparked a strong buzz that all is not well in the Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alliance. 

Political analysts are comparing this situation to the 2021 Assembly Elections. At that time, Rahul Gandhi kickstarted his campaign with a three-day Tamil Nadu visit in January, before the elections.

According to the Congress functionaries in state, Rahul Gandhi's campaign schedules are yet to be firmed up, but as per the tentative plan, he will visit after the first phase of polls in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.

What happen in Puducherry?

The most obvious sign of tension between the two parties was seen in Puducherry on Monday. Rahul Gandhi visited Puducherry only on Monday, which was the final leg of the election campaign. 

During the campaign, Rahul Gandhi appealed people to support Congress candidates and alliance candidates, but  he avoided mentioning alliance partner DMK and its president M K Stalin in his speech.

Stalin was also there in Puducherry the same day, however their campaign schedules were arranged in a way that they didn't cross paths. While Rahul campaigned in the morning, Stalin visited in the evening.

Later, a DMK official said that, "Rahul did not even mention Stalin's name in his speech, so Stalin in response didn't mention him. 

What did experts say?

According to political experts, this could be a fallout of the friction between the two parties during the seat-sharing talks before the elections.

According to DMK sources, there was no effort from the party's side for a meeting between Rahul and Stalin. 

DMK organisational secretary, R S Bharathi, said the two allies had planned their public meeting well in advance and couldn't alter it at the last minute to hold a joint meeting. However, the two would campaign together shortly, he said.

A senior Congress functionary said Rahul has planned to visit the state after April 10.