Punjab, Oct. 11 -- Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister had lunch with Rahul Gandhi on Saturday and welcomed Narendra Modi at the airport on Sunday. Both visits were political. Neither was contradictory, and understanding why requires knowing something about Tamil Nadu that most national coverage has skipped.
The alliance nobody outside the state has absorbed
TVK formally joined the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu on 3 October. The alliance has been named the Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance, and it comprises TVK, the Congress, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Indian Union Muslim League.
The consequential part: the Congress broke from the DMK to support the TVK-led government. After decades in which Congress in Tamil Nadu meant Congress...