Is Rahul Gandhi Backing A New Pragmatic Congress Strategy In South India? | #homework | N18S

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]How do you analyze these two calls, especially to dump the DMK and go towards the TVK in Tamil Nadu and choosing Mr. V.Z. Satheesan as the Chief Minister in the state of Kerala?

[00:00:12]Uh, so I mean that it's very interesting. I think it is showing Rahul Gandhi as a pragmatic person, person who's not rigid, who doesn't stand on personal prestige, particularly in the context of Kerala decision where the person he was supposed to, you know, be backing was Mr. K.C. Venugopal, a powerful person in the AICC establishment. Yet Rahul Gandhi in a way, you know, sacrificed him for a greater goal, for the greater good of the party.

[00:00:40]But more importantly, I think was the alliance talk in in in Tamil Nadu and the kind of final outcome that we saw that Rahul Gandhi ditching DMK, M.K.

[00:00:51]Stalin and more going with Vijay. There was a little bit of background was there because before the run-up to election, there was a lot of talk and speculation.

[00:01:00]In fact, TVK was willing to give as many as 50 to 70 seats to the Congress, but Congress being Congress, there were two views and the old guard prevailed.

[00:01:10]Significantly, on the 24th and 25th of April, when the votes were cast in Tamil Nadu, a review meeting was there and where Rahul Gandhi supposed to have said that you know, he blundered. And so there was a course correction when the body came on May 4th. Very quickly, Rahul Gandhi took, you know, took a position which was to dump DMK.

[00:01:30]So there is a checkered history of Congress DMK alliances and alliances in India are opportunistic. A lot of things were said, but I think Rahul Gandhi acted very pragmatic and in Vijay, he has an ally who will not only sort of consolidate the Congress in Tamil Nadu, help him net more and more seats in 2029 Lok Sabha, but good optics outside Tamil Nadu. And that is I think that Rahul Gandhi badly needed, a sort of a link to Gen Z and voters who are not voting for him.