Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday reaffirmed his party's support for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) after their defeats in the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, while criticizing the Congress for withdrawing support from DMK and aligning with actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). "We are not the ones who leave during difficult times," Yadav said in a statement posted on X, accompanied by photos of his meetings with TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and DMK leader M.K. Stalin.

Yadav met Banerjee at her Kalighat residence in Kolkata on Thursday, where he expressed solidarity after TMC's loss of power in West Bengal, where the BJP won 207 of 294 seats, ending 15 years of TMC rule. The SP chief alleged that the elections were conducted through intimidation and manipulation, citing what he called the "Uttar Pradesh model," and accused the BJP, Election Commission, and central forces of enabling opposition defeat. The DMK won only 59 of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu.

The TMC, DMK, and SP are key constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc, and Yadav's outreach underscores efforts to maintain alliance cohesion after a string of electoral setbacks. His remarks come amid growing scrutiny of Congress's decision to support a new regional player in Tamil Nadu instead of backing its former ally DMK.

The SP leadership is expected to engage further with INDIA bloc partners in the coming weeks to discuss national strategy ahead of the 2029 general elections. The next formal bloc meeting is scheduled for June 2026.