Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results 2026 | AIADMK, DMK in talks for alliance to keep Vijay's TVK away from forming govt?

TVK is struggling to reach the majority mark — 118 in the 234-member House — even after the Congress joining hands.

As Tamil Nadu continues to see major political churn days after the Assembly election results, there seems to be no end to speculations over post-poll alliance scenarios in the State.

Even as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Wednesday issued clarification that it will not extend support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation in Tamil Nadu, unconfirmed reports have emerged of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) having talks with its rival the AIADMK for a possible tie-up to thwart the TVK bid to assume power.

Vijay's TVK is struggling to reach the majority mark — 118 in the 234-member House — even after the Congress coming onboard. The alliance has support of 112 MLAs so far.

But even if the DMK and AIADMK were to tie-up in a rare move, their combined strength would still fall short of 118 and require the support of their allies to form the government.

Both TVK chief Vijay and senior members of his party opened communication channels with the DMK’s allies, the CPI, CPI(M), and the VCK, each of which have secured two seats.

According to a report by The Hindu, at the same time, DMK president M K Stalin also has reportedly discussed with the three parties the possibility of extending support to an AIADMK-led administration.

With the numbers potentially being finely balanced, the three parties have emerged as decisive players in the ongoing political negotiations. Their backing is now essential for either the TVK or the AIADMK to stake claim to form the government.

The numbers would add up to 120 seats for the AIADMK, which won 47 seats, when the party will gain support of its allies, the PMK, which secured four seats, and the AMMK with one seat, along with outside backing from the DMK’s 59 MLAs, the two-member IUML, and the six legislators from the CPI-CPI(M)-VCK bloc, excluding BJP’s lone MLA-elect.

However, the two Communist parties reportedly refrained from giving an immediate response, saying their respective State committee meetings scheduled for the day would take the final call.

Additionally, Stalin, who was initially opposed to supporting an AIADMK government, is said to have softened his stand following pressure from allies. Reportedly, he later invited CPI(M) State secretary P Shanmugam, CPI State secretary M Veerapandian, and VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan for talks at his residence. During the discussions, Stalin clarified that while the DMK itself would stay out of the government, allied parties could independently decide whether to participate in the government formation, according to reports.