The latest party to exit the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led (DMK) Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) is the CPI. In an announcement after a meeting of the party’s top State-level committees on June 11, CPI State secretary P. Veerapandian told mediapersons in Coimbatore that “in the current situation, the CPI would not be able to be part of the DMK alliance”.

Both the Left parties, the CPI and the CPI (Marxist), which have two MLAs each in Tamil Nadu, offer outside support to the TVK government. Veerapandian emphasised the phrase “current situation” and added that it was “not possible to ignore the DMK and the AIADMK, which we consider democratic forces. The TVK is a newly born democratic force. It is our duty to support TVK.”

Reacting to a contention that the CPI would be left in the lurch if the TVK wins at least four of the five upcoming Assembly byelections, Veerapandian said: “We would never characterise our support as mercy to any party. It is a decision taken by the top committees of the party...We are not at the mercy of others too. No force can isolate us. Even if we do not win Assembly or Parliament elections, our voices will be heard in the streets of India.”

Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay had visited the CPI office in Delhi on June 10 and met with party leaders. CPI leaders dismissed the timing of the party’s announcement as a coincidence. One leader said that Vijay was in Delhi for the NITI Aayog meet and that he found time to visit the CPI office.

Alliance rumblings

The CPI(M) has already announced its exit from the DMK alliance. “There is no such thing as a DMK alliance now,” CPI(M) State secretary P. Shanmugham declared in Pudukottai on June 8. “The SPA, which we were a part of, is no longer there,” he added.

A DMK leader who took objection to this framing said that it was up to the DMK to decide whether the SPA exists and that the CPI(M) should not have made such a statement.

The CPI(M) is clear that it will support the TVK government and offer political advice as and when required. Shanmugam said: “If there are decisions of the government that we have reservations with, we will oppose them,” he added and also said that the new government should be given adequate time to understand the workings of various departments.

Within the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), another component of the SPA, there were extensive discussions before the decision to support the TVK. Some party seniors wanted to leave the DMK alliance, while a few others were vociferous about staying on with the DMK. On May 26, former VCK MLA Panaiyur Babu threatened to leave the party over its support to the TVK government. Reminding VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan that he had called TVK a child of the BJP and the RSS, Babu charged that the VCK leader had “begun to waver in his ideological stance”.

In a statement, Babu said that Thirumavalavan took “one stand yesterday, another in a television interview, yet another in a press conference and contradicted much of this in a Facebook live”.

After the May 4 victory, Thirumavalavan initially said that he did not want to lend support to the TVK to form a government. He later changed his stand after the Left parties decided to lend support to the TVK.

In addition, there were also moves to bring the AIADMK and the DMK together with Thirumavalavan as the Chief Minister. A top-level source said that Thirumavalavan was interested in the arrangement. But when this deal did not materialise, he decided to support the TVK. Meanwhile, Babu has joined the DMK.

VCK-DMK tensions

The simmering tensions between the VCK and the DMK are seen in many districts. In fact, they came to the fore on May 28 when DMK and VCK cadres clashed in Kunnam in Perambalur district. It was a deliberate attempt for both parties to establish dominance. The VCK cadres claimed that they had gathered at a bus stop to protest against the remarks of DMK deputy general secretary and former Union Minister A. Raja, while the DMK cadres insisted that they had gathered at the very spot to caution the VCK against vicious verbal attacks on Raja.

Raja had made a sexual reference to describe the VCK joining the TVK government. He had stated that the pot (the VCK symbol) and the ladder (the symbol of the Indian Union Muslim League) had succumbed to the sound of the whistle (the TVK symbol). This was like having an illicit relationship, Raja said in a social media post. He was angry at the VCK because it had initially announced that it would provide outside support to the TVK, like the CPI and the CPI(M), and later changed its decision and joined the government. He deleted the social media post following outrage from across the political spectrum.

The VCK has one Minister in the Cabinet. Given the recent bad blood between the DMK and the VCK, it appears that the difference of opinion between the two parties has grown massively. This will be a very difficult gulf to bridge, even a few years down the road.

The IUML, which also had initially refused to lend support to the TVK to form the government, changed tack later when it realised that it had an opportunity to join the Cabinet. Its national president, K.M. Kader Mohideen, described the coalition government as a “new beginning” in Tamil Nadu politics. Speaking to mediapersons on May 24, he insisted that but for the votes of Muslims, the DMK could not have won many seats in the State. IUML is now comfortably settled in the TVK government and has got one ministerial berth.

The biggest loser in the political realignment is the Vaiko-led Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK). The party candidates contested on the DMK symbol and hence are unable to switch sides. If the two MLAs who won do, they will be disqualified. The MDMK’s principal secretary, Durai Vaiko, who is a Member of Parliament, has made no secret of his displeasure. The party’s general council will meet on June 27, and it is clear from the sentiments expressed by Durai Vaiko that the MDMK will part ways with the DMK.

Durai Vaiko said that he did not regret contesting as part of the DMK alliance but his only problem was that the party could not contest on its own symbol. Initially, one of the four candidates were supposed to contest in the top symbol, but the DMK changed this later. The MDMK leadership is now worried that the very existence of the party is in question.

Exodus redux

The exodus of smaller political parties from one side to another is common in Tamil Nadu. Ahead of the 2001 election, several parties allied with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) because the DMK preferred to contest in the company of smaller caste outfits. In 2004, ahead of the Lok Sabha election, most of the partners returned to the DMK fold. In 2006, most partners, barring the MDMK, remained with the DMK. These parties left the DMK alliance in 2011 to join the AIADMK front.

In 2016, with the help of actor Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), the smaller parties put up a third front, which was routed. The smaller parties, barring the DMDK, came back to the DMK fold for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. That combine stayed strong for the 2021 Assembly election, the 2024 Lok Sabha election, and the 2026 Assembly election. This is the longest duration that an alliance has held together in Tamil Nadu.

For now, the realignment is complete. The DMK alliance is left with the DMDK and a few smaller caste parties. But each election has proved to be unique in the State. Although the Congress has already tied up with the TVK for the 2029 Lok Sabha election, there is no guarantee that the winds will not change, or that the other allies will remain with the TVK.

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