A DMK-AIADMK pact may be advantage Vijay as Tamil Nadu drama drags on
Left says it aims to ensure “secular mandate remains undisturbed”, even as resistance to understanding with AIADMK grows in DMK
Tamil Nadu does not need constitutional innovation. It needs constitutional memory. (File photo) The plan was ambitious, with some inside the AIADMK believing it was necessary and sections of the top DMK leadership also willing to at least think about it. But by Friday, the very discussion of a possible DMK-AIADMK arrangement to keep Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) away from power appeared to be producing the opposite effect: pushing smaller allies closer to Vijay.
The CPI, the CPI(M), and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) which won two seats each held internal meetings through Friday to decide their next move. Their support could take the TVK, which emerged as the single-largest force in a fractured Assembly with 108 seats, past the half-way mark of 118 and allow Vijay to stake claim to form the government.
As the CPI and the CPI(M) meetings continued on Friday, VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan said his party’s decision would be announced on Saturday morning. Inside the TVK, leaders remained cautiously optimistic.
A senior Left leader said the DMK’s idea of supporting the AIADMK may have backfired politically. Together, the two Dravidian majors have 106 seats, with 59 for the DMK and 47 for the AIADMK. “What is the people’s mandate here? Some argue that a DMK-AIADMK combine has the numbers and therefore the mandate. But who will accept that argument? Our aim is to ensure that the secular mandate remains undisturbed,” said the leader.
“Hopefully by today evening or tomorrow morning…” said a senior TVK leader when asked when there would be clarity. Another leader said preliminary discussions had already touched on possible Cabinet positions for the Left parties and the VCK if support materialises. There was even early talk — still fluid — of Thirumavalavan contesting a bypoll from Tiruchy East after resigning his Lok Sabha seat and potentially becoming Deputy CM in Vijay’s cabinet.
Nothing is settled and everything is being discussed, according to those privy to the talks. That has become the defining mood of Tamil Nadu after one of the most disruptive elections in decades.
For nearly half a century, the state’s politics revolved around the two Dravidian giants alternating power. This election broke that rhythm as voters not merely reduced the DMK. but also refused to fully return to the AIADMK. Instead, they handed a startling mandate to a political newcomer led by a film star with little political experience.
“This has been a major victory. The anger was not against the DMK alone. People did not vote for the AIADMK either. They voted for a new party. There was a silent contempt underneath. The subtext was corruption. We need to admit that,” said a senior DMK leader who was a minister in the Stalin government.
That sentiment has shaken both old parties. The proposed DMK-AIADMK understanding — which the DMK did not firmly deny until Friday morning — emerged from overlapping fears and calculations. There was disbelief at the scale of Vijay’s rise. There was concern inside both camps about what a TVK government could mean for old networks of influence, there was anxiety about investigations, power centres, and political survival, and there was personal shock as even M K Stalin lost his own seat.
How Congress complicated matters
In public, leaders continued to speak the language of constitutional propriety but behind the scenes, many sounded dazed. And the Congress complicated matters further.
According to TVK insiders, the original plan had been to announce support from the Congress, the CPI, the CPI(M), and the VCK together, presenting a broader anti-BJP and anti-Dravidian coalition around Vijay. But a senior Congress leader camping in Chennai with TVK negotiators hurried the declaration of Congress support before the rest were ready.
“One announcement changed the atmosphere. Had it been done together, things may have moved more smoothly,” said a TVK leader. That early move hardened resistance in multiple camps, spoiled chances of even some NDA allies joining the TVK.
The BJP, sources said, was strongly opposed to the Congress entering a Vijay-led Cabinet. The DMK, meanwhile, was angered by what leaders privately described as Congress leaving the alliance in a “thankless manner” after years of partnership. “Rahul Gandhi could have done gracefully,” a senior DMK leader said.
What’s happening in parties now
Meanwhile, the state is seeing a familiar scene unfold, with resorts, guarded buses, and constant political arithmetic. AIADMK legislators were moved to a resort amid discussions of staking claim under Edappadi K Palaniswami, potentially with outside support from the DMK. There was no visible threat of poaching yet.
Inside the DMK, resistance to any understanding with the AIADMK is growing. One faction, including leaders such as Kanimozhi, argue the party should not move against the public mandate merely to stop Vijay. Another faction remains firm on the stand that extraordinary circumstances required extraordinary arrangements.
The irony is difficult to miss. For years, both parties mocked Vijay as a mere entertainer and post-results, they have been finding ways to prevent the entertainer from taking office.
There have also been worries that delays by the CPI, the CPI(M), and the VCK could create an opening for Palaniswami to move faster and stake the claim first, especially if more allies drifted away from the DMK.
The TVK itself is hardly functioning like a polished machine. Several insiders admitted the party remains politically inexperienced, heavily reliant on newcomers, and still vulnerable to strategic mistakes. “There are fears even now,” one TVK functionary said. “We are doing multiple rounds of checks to ensure all our MLAs and Congress MLAs remain intact.”
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