Just as Manickam Tagore upped the ante against the DMK, Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty has also amplified pressure on the DMK, particularly over political messaging surrounding the release of ₹5,000 to 1.3 crore women in Tamil Nadu under the Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme.
What RS Bharathi Said
On 14 February 2026, DMK Organising Secretary RS Bharathi said that following the announcement of the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme yesterday, demands for a share in governance would no longer be raised.
His remarks came after a consultative meeting of the DMK Legal Wing held at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, in Chennai. Following the deliberations, Bharathi told reporters that opposition parties were already facing fear of defeat. He noted that the women’s entitlement assistance was not a one-time measure but had been provided every month.
He asserted that in the wake of the latest announcement, no one in the Congress party would continue to speak about power-sharing. According to him, the scheme had further strengthened public support for the DMK, and this political reality would deter any further demands for a share in governance.
Bharathi also reiterated that there would be no coalition government in Tamil Nadu, emphasizing that Chief Minister MK Stalin had already made the party’s position clear. While questions from Congress leaders such as Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Selvaperunthagai could be responded to, he added that it was not possible to address every query raised by others.
Praveen Chakravarty Response
In a post on his X handle, Chakravarty stated that the Magalir Urimai Thogai cash assistance scheme alone would not guarantee electoral victory, calling such assumptions misplaced. He argued that believing entitlement transfers alone ensure success is “a superstition,” noting that in the past three years, similar women-focused financial assistance schemes were announced ahead of elections in nine major states. Of those, ruling parties won only four while losing five. His remarks were widely seen as a rebuttal to DMK leader RS Bharathi, who had suggested that after ₹5,000 was credited to women beneficiaries, alliance partners would no longer raise power-sharing demands. By citing comparative electoral data, Chakravarty signaled that welfare announcements cannot substitute alliance strength.
He wrote, “The Magalir Urimai Thogai is an excellent welfare scheme. Its implementation is commendable. However, believing that it alone will guarantee electoral victory is a superstition. In the past three years, among nine major state governments that announced similar schemes ahead of elections, only four won, while five were defeated.”
மகளிர் உரிமைத் தொகை ஒரு சிறந்த நலத்திட்டம். செயல்படுத்தியது பாராட்டதக்கது
ஆனால், அது மற்றுமே தேர்தலில் வெற்றியை உறுதிப்படுத்தும் என்று நம்புவது ஒரு மூடநம்பிக்கை
கடந்த 3 ஆண்டுகளில், தேர்தலுக்கு முன்னதாக இது போன்ற திட்டங்களை அறிவித்த 9 பெரிய மாநில அரசுகளில், 4 மட்டுமே வெற்றி… https://t.co/Ag5F49gE4z pic.twitter.com/e8wYKzEoDL
— Praveen Chakravarty (@pravchak) February 15, 2026
Despite repeated assertions by Chief Minister Stalin and senior DMK ministers that there would be no power-sharing arrangement, Congress leaders such as Tagore and Chakravarty, have continued to publicly insist on share in governance, greater seat allocation, and institutional recognition within the alliance
With formal seat-sharing talks yet to begin, the exchange of criticisms and counter-statements has triggered fresh speculation over alliance cohesion, even as both parties officially maintain that the DMK-Congress alliance remains intact.
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