Chennai, Mar 15 (IANS): The DMK has lashed out at the Congress for the debacle in the recent elections to the five states.

In its editorial on Monday, the party mouthpiece 'Murasoli' said that the lethargic attitude of the Congress to unite other opposition parties in its fold was the reason for the drubbing in the polls.

The editorial also said that opposition unity was the need of the hour to oust the BJP from the centre.

The stand of the party mouthpiece is the political stand of the DMK and this is the first time that the party has come out strongly against its ally.

Quoting the statement of Priyanka Gandhi before the elections that the Congress was ready to align with any party but the BJP, the editorial said that the Congress did not do that and hence lost the polls.

Criticising the BJP, Murasoli in its editorial, said that BJP won the elections with its divisive and communal politics and added that in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP could increase its vote share by only 2 per cent while the Samajwadi Party could raise the vote share by 10 per cent. The party mouthpiece said that in Uttar Pradesh had the SP, BSP, and Congress united, the BJP would have been defeated.

In Punjab, the BJP could not do anything except win two seats.

Political analysts feel that the DMK wanted Congress to take the lead in stitching together an anti-BJP front for the 2024 general elections.

Dr R. Padmanabhan, Director, Socio-Economic Development Foundation, a think tank based out of Madurai while speaking to IANS said: "Given the poor situation that the Congress is in, it is better for the DMK to take the initiative for a front against the BJP and to take the Congress on board. This is workable and Stalin must take the initiative just like his father Late Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi had done in earlier years."