By Mukesh 
The post-election political climate in Tamil Nadu turned upside down on Thursday (May 7, 2026) after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leadership began toying with the idea of extending outside support to its arch-rival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam — a prospect that would have been unthinkable till a week ago.
Govt. formation LIVE updates – May 7
In a related development, the Lok Bhavan said Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar invited Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president C. Joseph Vijay and “explained that the requisite majority support in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, essential for forming the government, has not been established.”
While Mr. Vijay and senior party leaders reached out to the DMK’s allies — the Communist Party of India, the CPI(M) and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, which have two seats each — DMK president M.K. Stalin too is learnt to have broached with these three parties the idea of backing an AIADMK-led government.
Now clearly, the three parties hold the key to any further churn in Tamil Nadu politics. In fact, their combined support is crucial for both the TVK and the AIADMK to form a government.
Currently, the TVK with the support of the five elected candidates of the Congress, effectively has 112 seats in the 234-member House after accounting for the legal mandate for Mr. Vijay to resign from one of his two seats.
Should the AIADMK aspire to form a government without the support of the BJP’s lone representative, it would require the support of its other allies Pattali Makkal Katchi (4) and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (1), in addition to that of the DMK (59), the Indian Union Muslim League (2), and the six seats of the CPI-CPI(M)-VCK combine. It would give the alliance 120 seats.
Mr. Stalin, the outgoing Chief Minister who had initially rejected the proposal to back the AIADMK, reportedly yielded to pressure from second-line party leaders and invited CPI(M) State secretary P. Shanmugam, CPI State secretary M. Veerapandian, and VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan to his house for discussions. The DMK would not join the government, but the allies are free to take a decision on joining the government, he reportedly told them.
‘Pressure from senior DMK leaders’
Sources said some senior DMK leaders, including three senior outgoing Ministers, pressured Mr. Stalin to consider the option of backing the AIADMK. “Once Mr. Vijay forms the government, it will be difficult to unseat him for the next 10 to 15 years. The Dravidian parties have to take a decision to prevent such an eventuality,” a senior DMK leader said.
The argument within the DMK is that, since Mr. Stalin would not be in the Assembly, the DMK and the AIADMK could evolve a common minimum programme and jointly run the government. It is against this backdrop that Mr. Stalin invited the Left leaders and Mr. Thirumavalavan for consultations. But, Mr. Stalin is learnt to have told them their stand would be his stand as well.
While the two Communist parties sought time, stating their State committee meetings scheduled for Friday would take a final decision, Mr. Thirumavalavan indicated that he would follow the Communists’ stand.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the newly elected DMK legislators held at Anna Arivalayam empowered Mr. Stalin to take an appropriate decision in light of the fractured electoral verdict, which failed to give any single party a majority.
“As the State is not ready for another election, our objective is to ensure a stable government. At the same time, we are under compulsion to prevent communal forces that could disturb Dravidian ideals from gaining a foothold,” a resolution adopted at the meeting stated.
The resolution further said that Tamil Nadu’s growth trajectory could be sustained only if the welfare schemes implemented by the DMK government over the last five years continued without interruption.
“The meeting unanimously empowers the party leader to take an emergency decision, taking into consideration the prevailing political and administrative situation,” the resolution added.
Behind the insistence on ‘majority support’ looms the shadow of President’s Rule
Another resolution sharply criticised the Congress, the DMK’s former ally, accusing it of betrayal after it quit the alliance and extended support to the TVK.
“Congress was allotted a Rajya Sabha seat and 28 Assembly seats in the alliance. Yet, within three days of results being declared, it pawned the mandate earned through the hard work of alliance partners to the rival camp. Even during seat-sharing talks, the Congress failed to condemn remarks made against the alliance,” the resolution alleged.
The legislators’ meeting also referred to developments in Puducherry, where Congress candidates reportedly contested in seats allotted to the DMK.
“The rival candidates even met their party leader and sought his blessings. The Congress did not conduct itself sincerely even during the election campaign,” another resolution said.
The DMK accused the Congress of “backstabbing and betrayal”, claiming that Congress candidates failed to even call on Mr. Stalin, despite his having tolerated their excesses and campaigned extensively for them.