Chennai: A significant gathering at Rajya Sabha leader CV Shanmugam’s office in Chennai on Wednesday has raised fresh questions about the AIADMK’s unity, with around 35 of its newly elected MLAs, over two-thirds of the party’s assembly strength, meeting to discuss extending support to Thalapathy Vijay’s TVK.
Shanmugam, who won the Tamil Nadu election from the Mailam seat, hosted the meeting at his Chennai office. The MLAs present reportedly urged AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to consider an alliance with TVK, which fell ten seats short of the 118 needed for a majority in the 234-member assembly.
AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan moved quickly to play down talk of a split, insisting the decision would rest with the party’s high command. “TVK has not invited any party. If they want stability, they should take a call. There is some momentum. We will wait and see,” he said.
The Numbers Behind Tension
Tamil Nadu’s election produced a result that has left nobody fully in control. TVK won 108 seats in its debut contest, the AIADMK secured 47, and the ruling DMK was reduced to 59, a dramatic collapse for a party that had governed the state. The remaining seats were distributed among smaller parties, including Congress and the Left.
TVK has already secured the support of five Congress MLAs and has since reached out to the CPI, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and several other parties in an effort to build the numbers needed to form a stable government. Vijay is reportedly expected to take his oath as Chief Minister at Chennai’s Nehru Stadium.
Palaniswami Accepts Verdict
Following the results, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami issued a measured statement accepting the outcome. “I express my gratitude to all the people who rose and performed their democratic duty in the assembly elections,” he said, adding: “I wholeheartedly accept the decision given by the people.” He also thanked allied party leaders and AIADMK workers who campaigned for the NDA, and added, “We will soon recover from this setback.”
Whether that recovery involves joining hands with the very force that upended Tamil Nadu’s established order is now the question that the party’s high command must answer, and quickly.
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