As leaders of 23 opposition parties gather in New Delhi on June 8 for a key INDIA bloc meeting, one notable absentee is the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay.
The absence has raised eyebrows because the Congress, a key INDIA bloc constituent, is now a partner in the TVK-led government in Tamil Nadu.
However, experts say there are several reasons why TVK was not invited to the meeting, the most important being that the party has no representation in Parliament.
The meeting is primarily for parties with MPs, and TVK currently does not have any MPs in either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.
While TVK formed the government in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 Assembly election, it has not contested a Lok Sabha election and therefore has no parliamentary presence.
As a result, it is not part of the core group of opposition parties involved in parliamentary coordination of the INDIA bloc.
TVK is also not a member of the INDIA alliance yet, despite Congress joining hands with TVK after the Tamil Nadu Assembly election and supporting the Vijay government.
The June 8 gathering is officially an INDIA bloc meeting, and invitations have been extended to constituent parties of the alliance.
Since TVK remains outside the coalition's formal structure, it was not included in the invitee list.
