MDMK leader Vaiko.
Credit: PTI Photo-
Chennai: After CPI(M) and VCK, Vaiko’s MDMK is in focus for demanding “more seats” from the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the 2026 Assembly elections.
The demand, which was passed as a resolution at the General Council, was withdrawn at the Working Committee meeting recently at the prodding of Vaiko, but the rumblings within the MDMK over maintaining its individual identity by not surrendering to the DMK have yet to fade away.
The demand by the MDMK for 12 seats in the 2026 elections was significant since it came close on the heels of assertions by Tamil Nadu BJP leaders that a party from the DMK alliance was ready to jump to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Though MDMK never responded to the speculation, political analysts said the BJP leaders referred to the Vaiko-led party, cashing in on the disenchantment of Durai Vaiko, Vaiko’s son, towards the DMK.
MDMK, founded by Vaiko in 1993 after he was expelled from the DMK, lost its political significance and credibility over the decades as it swung like a pendulum between the two Dravidian majors. After several failed experiments, Vaiko sought refuge with the DMK and its President M K Stalin, against whose ascension the former led a rebellion against the late patriarch M Karunanidhi.
In 2019 and 2021, the MDMK was allotted one Lok Sabha and six Assembly seats, but its candidates contested on the DMK’s Rising Sun symbol. In 2024, Vaiko put his foot down and insisted that his son Durai Vaiko contest on the party's own symbol, who eventually won from the Tiruchirapalli constituency.
The resolution was seen as a move to get more seats for the MDMK and exert pressure on the DMK not to ask them to contest on its symbol.
However, the present controversy stems from Vaiko not getting renominated to the Rajya Sabha by the DMK, which chose actor Kamal Haasan this time.
The general council’s resolution openly demanding seats in double digits did not go down well with the DMK leadership, which sent a strong message to the MDMK by inducting its local leader from Tiruppur, who lost the 2021 elections, into the party in the presence of Stalin.
“Stalin has been following an unwritten rule of not inducting leaders from alliance partners into the DMK ever since he took over as the president. But with Muthurathinam, the rule was not followed. This was a conscious decision and was taken in the interests of strengthening the party in the western region,” a senior DMK leader told DH.
MDMK sources said the DMK’s decision to take its leader into the party rang alarm bells, with Vaiko interfering and deciding to withdraw the resolution seeking more seats. “This was much more than a signal. And we don’t have a choice but to remain with the DMK for now. Quitting the DMK alliance and joining the NDA isn’t an option for us as such a move would take away whatever credibility is left with the party,” a MDMK leader said.
However, the leader stressed that the party functionaries and cadres do not want to lose their individual identity and hope that the DMK will at least allow their party nominees to contest on their own symbol.
“We need something to convince our cadres,” the leader added.