The two Left parties — the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) — along with the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), hold the key both to government formation by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) led by actor C. Joseph Vijay, as well as to a reported proposal under consideration by the DMK to support the AIADMK in forming a government.

On Thursday (May 7, 2026), DMK president M.K. Stalin invited CPI(M) State secretary P. Shanmugam, CPI State secretary M. Veerapandian, and VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan to his house on Cenotaph Road for discussions and broached the idea of a DMK-backed AIADMK government.

Sources said while the Left parties informed Mr. Stalin that a decision would be taken at their respective State committee meetings scheduled for Friday (May 8), Mr. Thirumavalavan indicated his party would follow the line taken by the Communist parties. The three parties together have six MLAs, and their support is considered crucial for arriving at the magic figure of 118 seats required to form the government.

In the meantime, the DMK Legislature Party meeting slated for Thursday evening is likely to adopt a resolution giving power to the party leader to take a decision on the AIADMK’s request for support to form the government. As of now, the idea within the DMK is that it should support such a formation from the outside, while it would be up to its allies to decide on joining such a coalition government.