The Congress party's reduced tally in the Tamil Nadu assembly election underscores a familiar reality: nearly six decades after losing power to the DMK in 1967, the party has still not rebuilt a strong mass base in the state. Its performance, weaker than in the previous election, appears to have done little to revive the Congress in Tamil Nadu.
Continued Struggles as a Junior Ally
The national party remains a junior ally with limited grassroots strength, ridden with factionalism, and faces a deeper erosion of relevance in the Dravidian heartland. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had to step in to seal the alliance that was hanging in the balance because a section in Delhi showed 'excessive' interest in pushing for a change. Eleventh-hour discussions over power-sharing and mulling over the prospect of an alliance with actor Vijay's party, TVK, unsettled the workforce and contributed to a lack of cohesion among allies on the ground.
Declining Electoral Performance
The numbers reflect the decline. The party contested 28 seats and won five, while it contested 25 and won 18 in the 2021 assembly election as part of the DMK-led alliance. Across the previous three assembly elections, the Congress won 31 of the 129 seats it contested as part of the DMK-led alliance. Its vote share fell from 9.3% in 2011 to 6.42% in 2016 and 4.27% in 2021.
Tamil Nadu remains one of the few southern states where the Congress still hopes to retain political relevance through alliances. Yet Rahul Gandhi campaigned in only six constituencies in the north and central regions, and three in the south. The usual camaraderie between DMK and Congress leadership was notably absent on the campaign trail. Discontent over the DMK's refusal to share power was visible, with Rahul avoiding sharing the stage with Chief Minister M K Stalin and requiring considerable persuasion even to mention his name at a Sholinghur rally.
Internal Discontent and Future Prospects
At Rahul's first address in Ponneri, DMK cadres kicked barricades in anger after Stalin and the DMK were not mentioned. Priyanka Gandhi also stayed away from the campaign, though AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar participated. Within the party, some functionaries are looking at the possibility of joining hands with TVK, along with Left parties and the VCK. The 2026 result intensifies internal criticism and increases pressure to rebuild the organization from the booth level upward.
A Congress that depended on regional allies such as the DMK or AIADMK for decades, rather than on its own strength, may have to rely on yet another party for survival. This trend may continue as Tamil Nadu favors regional parties, local leadership, and state-based identities over parties seen to be taking directions from Delhi.
