Rupture From The Past: Seven Days That Changed Tamil Nadu

In the last seven days, Tamil Nadu politics has witnessed dramatic shifts that shattered conventional electoral alliances and ultimately catapulted actor-turned-politician Vijay and his two-year-old party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), into power. For the first time since Congress leader M. Bhakthavatsalam, Tamil Nadu is set to have a chief minister who does not belong to the Dravidian fold that has dominated the state’s politics for over six decades.

On May 4, as election results began to emerge, it signalled an epochal shift in Tamil Nadu politics. TVK, the party launched by Vijay in 2024, defied most exit poll predictions and delivered a series of shocks, with even M. K. Stalin — long considered politically invincible — losing from  Kolathur constituency. However, TVK fell short of a simple majority, and Governor Rajendra Arlekar insisted that before inviting the single-largest party to form the government, he needed to be satisfied that it commanded majority support in the Assembly. This triggered one of the most dramatic days in recent Tamil Nadu political history.

The Congress, a long-time ally of the DMK, was the first to break ranks and extend support to TVK. The Congress decision — long advocated by a section of Tamil Nadu leaders within the party — effectively ruptured the fragile I.N.D.I.A bloc at the national level. Furious over the Congress move, DMK parliamentary leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking separate seating arrangements for DMK members away from Congress MPs in Parliament.

In a post on X, M. K. Stalin expressed disappointment over the conduct of the Congress legislators, noting that the party’s five MLAs had not even visited the DMK  headquarters to convey their gratitude despite contesting as part of the alliance, and had instead chosen to sever ties with the DMK.

At the same time, Stalin clarified that the CPI, the CPI(M) and the VCK would continue to remain within the alliance framework. “Communist leaders Shanmugam and Veerapandian, along with VCK leader Thirumavalavan, have announced that they will continue to join hands with the DMK and fight for the rights of Tamil Nadu,” Stalin wrote.

The post signalled what appears to be a decisive rupture in the decade-long DMK–Congress bonhomie, a partnership that had significantly helped the Congress regain political relevance in Tamil Nadu and secure nine Lok Sabha MPs. The relationship now appears irreversibly strained, at least for the foreseeable future.

Tirumavalavan, leader of the VCK, said his party had extended support to TVK to prevent the possible imposition of President’s Rule in the state. “Supporting TVK will not affect our ties with the DMK,” he said. Thirumavalavan added that he had personally explained the party’s decision to support TVK to M. K. Stalin, emphasising the extraordinary political situation.

But it is alleged that a clandestine move by a faction within the AIADMK to secure the DMK's support triggered dramatic shifts within the Secular Progressive Alliance led by the DMK. Later, M. A. Baby, the general secretary of the CPI (M), confirmed that the DMK was planning to back the AIADMK and had urged its allies to support the arrangement. A section within the AIADMK has been trying to make arrangements with the DMK, without the knowledge of the party leader and former chief minister Edappadi. K Palaniswamy. “ The verdict was not just against the DMK but against the AIADMK as well, and it was in favour of the TVK”, Baby said in a media interview.  According to CPIM sources, this move has nudged the CPIM and the CPI to snap ties with the DMK and extend support the TVK.

However, the DMK categorically denied any move to support the AIADMK. Party national spokesperson Dharanidharan dismissed the reports outright. “These are concocted stories spread with ulterior motives,” he said.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore, however, alleged that the DMK had indeed explored extending support to a formation led by the AIADMK.

According to sources within the AIADMK, the move was never formally discussed or approved by the party leadership. “Some leaders sent feelers to Udhayanidhi Stalin, who nurtures ‘hostility’ towards Vijay,” an AIADMK leader familiar with the developments said on condition of anonymity.

“Any DMK–AIADMK combination in Tamil Nadu is inherently unsustainable,” says senior journalist Babu Jayakumar.

After effectively thwarting that possibility, the CPI and the CPI(M) unconditionally supported TVK to prevent what they described as possible political manoeuvring by the Governor at the BJP's behest.

Soon after the Congress extended support, Joseph Vijay met the Governor and staked claim to form the government. However, the Governor reportedly insisted that, before appointing Vijay as Chief Minister, he needed to be satisfied that the proposed government enjoyed a majority in the Assembly.

The development triggered criticism from several quarters, with opposition leaders and constitutional commentators alleging that the Governor was acting at the behest of the BJP. Critics argued that questions of majority should ordinarily be settled on the floor of the Assembly rather than at the Raj Bhavan.

Constitutional expert and former Lok Sabha Secretary General P. D. T. Achary, however, pointed out that India has witnessed different constitutional approaches in such situations. “When the BJP emerged as the single-largest party under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then President Shankar Dayal Sharma invited him to form the government. Vajpayee, however, failed to win the trust vote and resigned after 13 days. But when K. R. Narayanan became President, he asked Vajpayee to produce a list of supporting MPs before inviting him to form the government,” Achary explained. At the same time, he emphasised that “the role of the Governor should always be to facilitate the formation of a government.”

After six days of tumultuous political manoeuvring and intense bargaining, Vijay has finally emerged as Tamil Nadu’s new Chief Minister, marking a decisive break from the state’s political past. Yet, the questions confronting him are formidable. With the support of the Left parties and the VCK crucial for the survival of his government, any rightward shift could destabilise the fragile arrangement.

At the same time, it remains unclear whether Vijay possesses the political experience and organisational depth to adopt the kind of combative posture towards the Centre that M. K. Stalin cultivated over the years. How he navigates his relationship with his declared ideological adversary, the BJP, and his principal political rival, the DMK, will shape the future trajectory of Tamil Nadu politics.

The rupture Tamil Nadu witnessed over the past week is unlikely to remain a momentary upheaval. Its political repercussions are certain to reverberate through the state in the months and years ahead