Allies turn up heat as DMK, AIADMK begin seat-sharing calculations for 2026

While the DMK and the AIADMK are focusing on priming their party cadres for the 2026 assembly polls, alliance partners of the Dravidian majors are flexing their muscles and placing demands for a greater number of seats to remain in the alliance.

Senior leaders of the arch rivals, who are engaged in “health checks” in their strongholds and weak spots, are also calculating the number of constituencies that could be allotted to alliance partners, as the hue and cry for a greater number of seats has already begun.

CPI(M) takes the lead

It was CPI(M) secretary P Shanmugam who renewed the call for more seats among the alliance partners in the DMK camp. In media interviews, Shanmugam has said his party expects to be “treated well” by the DMK-led alliance.

He has said that his party agreed to a “historically low” number of seats, considering they faced the major task of defeating the AIADMK-BJP alliance in the 2021 assembly polls, and it cannot be expected this time again.

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Staying relevant

Though the CPI(M)’s strength has diminished over the years in Tamil Nadu, since the emergence of the Dravidian majors in the early 1980s, it has continued to keep its momentum by aligning with these parties since the late 1990s.

In the 2021 assembly polls, the CPI(M) got only six seats and won two. Party leaders also spoke in their recent state conference and passed a resolution to increase their presence in the state assembly.

No “compromise”

“Solidarity among secular parties in the DMK alliance should be preserved to defeat the AIADMK-BJP alliance, which blooms during the election and withers after defeat. But in the case of the DMK alliance, we stay intact based on our ideological values,” Shanmugam told the media.

“However, we will not accept any compromise in this election. We received just six seats [in 2021], which is historically low in our alliance history,” Shanmugam told the media.

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VCK’s demand

Earlier, VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, too, mentioned on various public platforms that he would like to stay in the DMK alliance, but also demanded more seats.

In a public meeting in Villupuram in March, Thirumavalavan said: “People from all backgrounds have accepted the VCK, which is evident from our victory in four constituencies, including two general constituencies. Raising our flag in the political fortress is our dream, and our ultimate goal is to secure a share in governance and power. We prioritise ideology, which is why we contest fewer seats. However, in 2026, we will seek more seats. But we will not switch alliances for the sake of power.”

DMK’s weight

In the 2021 assembly polls, the CPI(M), CPI, MDMK, and VCK received six seats each. While MDMK and VCK won four seats each, the comrades could succeed only in two seats. Congress contested 25 seats and secured 18.

Since the DMK could win 133 of the 173 seats it contested and secured a majority on its own, allotting a greater number of seats will be opposed by DMK cadres this time too. Political critics say that while the DMK has set its target to win 200 out of the 234 assembly constituencies, allotting more would risk its possibilities of reaching its goal.

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Allies on back foot

Speaking to The Federal, political critic R Rangaraj said the DMK’s vote bank gained strength due to its unity with the alliance partners.

“Compared to the AIADMK alliance, DMK could put together a rainbow alliance and display a strong image in the eyes of the voters. But this time, DMK will have a greater difficulty achieving its target of winning 200 if the alliance partners demand a greater number of seats,” said Rangaraj.

TVK factor

“Among DMK’s alliance partners, parties like Congress, CPI, and CPI(M) are facing a difficult time enrolling young voters into their parties, as TVK is eating into their vote bank. So, DMK might find it difficult to allot double-digit seats to its alliance partners,” he explained.

He also added that DMK cadres themselves would demand seats to be allotted to their party men and not to alliance partners. “Seat-sharing talks are always a headache for any political party leader, but given the target he declared, Stalin has to tackle both alliance partners and his party men,” said Rangaraj.

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AIADMK camp

Not just in the DMK, in the AIADMK camp, too, seat-sharing and power-sharing talks are much-discussed topics among the cadres and alliance partners.

The AIADMK contested 191 seats while allotting 20 seats to BJP and 23 seats to PMK in 2021. While the AIADMK won 66 seats, BJP won four, and PMK won five. In the AIADMK camp, too, the BJP is looking for a bigger allocation this time.

After the alliance for the 2026 assembly polls was finalised in April, many BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu made statements in press meets about the formation of a coalition (read NDA) government in the state. But AIADMK leaders rejected the statements of BJP leaders.

No “coalition” government

When the debates were unending in the AIADMK-BJP camp and reached a crescendo, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami himself spoke in a press meet, stating that there would not be a coalition government in Tamil Nadu, meaning that it would not be an NDA government.

“At the national level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would head the alliance, and in Tamil Nadu, the alliance would be headed by me. What is there to be worried about? We have forged the alliance because we want to return to power,” Palaniswami told the media.

Also read: Amit Shah’s Madurai visit signals BJP’s push for Vijay’s TVK in NDA

Edappadi’s rule

But BJP leaders continue to talk about power sharing in the government with AIADMK. Former AIADMK minister Rajendra Balaji, in a public meeting recently, made a harsh statement.

Speaking at the AIADMK booth committee members’ meeting at Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district, Balaji said, “Edappadi Palaniswami has formed a wonderful, excellent, and clear alliance. In the Centre, BJP members are saying it is an alliance government. Where did they say that? Who said that? In Tamil Nadu, it will be Edappadi’s rule. If someone says it’s an AIADMK alliance government, it only means that the AIADMK alliance will come to power — that’s the clear meaning. Under the leadership of AIADMK, under the leadership of Edappadi Palaniswami, it will be Jayalalithaa’s governance that returns in Tamil Nadu.”