Overview
- The DMK held ceremonies for M. Karunanidhi’s 103rd birth anniversary on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, with party president M.K. Stalin offering floral tributes at the memorial on Chennai’s Marina Beach.
- Top Congress figures including Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge publicly honoured Karunanidhi on the same day, praising his work for social justice, literature and Tamil public life.
- Multiple outlets report that Congress’s public tributes are being read as a deliberate outreach after the party abruptly shifted its Tamil Nadu support to actor Vijay’s TVK following the state election.
- The DMK has expressed strong disappointment at Congress for backing TVK without consultation and has reportedly ruled out future formal alliances with Congress.
- Because TVK currently has no members in Parliament, analysts say Congress has a practical reason to repair relations with the DMK; observers will now watch whether the DMK offers conditional parliamentary cooperation to the opposition and how that affects national-level strategy.