The Congress is needling the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) by sidling towards former Tamil matinee idol Vijay, whose new kid on the block, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), is more of a bargaining chip.

The DMK has been condescending, if not contemptuous, of the Congress, as indicated by the steady decrease of seats allocated to it for contesting, from 63 in the 2011 Assembly elections to 41 in the 2016 elections, and then to 25 in the 2021 elections, out of which it made a rich harvest of 18 seats.

This is in sharp contrast to its poor showing and strike rate in the 2020 Bihar elections — out of the 70 assembly seats allotted to it by its dominant alliance partner RJD, the Congress could win only 19 seats, giving credence to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Tejashwi Yadav’s lament that had he not been so generous, he could have romped home victorious in the hustings.

That it is much stronger in Tamil Nadu than what the DMK believes has emboldened it to cozy up to the Johnny-come-lately Vijay and ask for as many as 125 seats to........

© News18