Chennai | Throwing his party's weight behind the Congress to ensure an Opposition win in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday said arguments by some favouring a front without the grand old party should be rejected.

Stalin, in his birthday address asserted that post-poll alliance and third front are not workable proposals.

The event is a launch pad for a new era of politics in India and it was a thing of joy for him, the Chief Minister said.

"Rather than who should form the government, the 2024 LS election is about who must not capture power," he said.

Stalin alleged that the BJP is dividing the country based on communal fascism. "The BJP must be defeated politically. This must be the single goal for all opposition parties." Batting for a spirit of unity among opposition parties, the Dravidian party chief said it would bring victory in the general elections. "If national politics is decided based on State-based political differences, the loss is for us," he said, a reference to State-specific political realities that hindered bringing like-minded parties together to take on the BJP.

"If we (the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance) have all elections in TN during the past four years, the reason is unity." He said arguments put forth by 'some' favouring a non-Congress front should be rejected and a post-poll alliance for the Parliamentary election is not practical. K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS is pitted against the Congress and the BJP in Telangana. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's TMC is fighting both the Left and the BJP.

"Political parties should rise above differences and stand together as a unified force to defeat BJP in LS polls. Talks of third front are pointless. I humbly request all the political parties opposed to BJP to understand this simple electoral arithmetic and stand united," he said. Stalin celebrated his 70th birthday on Wednesday.

He urged the party cadres to work for the victory of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in all the 40 seats, 39 in Tamil Nadu and one in neighbouring Puducherry in the 2024 polls.

He conveyed to Kharge, in his address, that a resolution passed at the recent Congress plenary demonstrating the party's willingness to work with all like-minded parties was the 'ideal birthday present', to him.

The Chief Minister hit out at the Centre over several issues including the AIIMS project in Tamil Nadu being a 'non-starter' and the Union government not exempting the State from the purview of NEET and non-allocation of funds for development of Tamil language while it allotted 'crores of crores' funding for Sanskrit's growth.

He pointed out that Governor R N Ravi has not given his nod for a Bill passed to ban online rummy. "Are they not banning it considering that gambling was featured in epic Mahabharata?" He also slammed the Centre for making "non-allocation of funds to non-BJP ruled States." "The BJP is waging a war against the states governed by its opposition parties. The 2024 General Elections is an opportunity to win our ideological battle. Let us unite and march towards victory!"