"Tamil Nadu has never had a coalition government. It would never happen," said Senior AIADMK Leader M. Thambidurai in April 2025. He was wrong.
On May 8, 2026,Tamil Nadu, a state that has governed itself with single-party rule since independence, a state where sharing power was considered political weakness, a state where two Dravidian behemoths – the DMK and AIADMK – took turns running things for nearly six decades without once offering a cabinet berth to an ally – got its first-ever coalition government.
The man who made it happen is not a politician. He is a superstar and now a super politician, winning big in his debut election. And the parties who made it possible were the ones Tamil Nadu's establishment had spent decades keeping out of the room.
Vijay’s TVK won 108 seats in Tamil Nadu, ending short of the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member assembly. Congress jumped in to back Vijay, committing its five seats to TVK. After more than 40 hours of yes-no-maybe, the CPI and CPM committed two seats each, and the VCK its two, taking the combined tally to 118.
Though the Congress and the Left did not make any demands before extending their support, the VCK, with two seats, refused to let go of the opportunity asking for a deputy CM post, and one additional cabinet berth. The party is also pressing for the MLA seat that will fall vacant once Vijay vacates one of his two constituencies — Perambur or Tiruchirappalli East.
Additionally, since VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan currently holds the Chidambaram Lok Sabha seat; the party wants a guaranteed MP seat once that vacancy arises.Tamil Nadu Government Formation 2026 Live
Since 1967, Tamil Nadu Gave Clear Mandate… Until 2026
Since 1967, across all 13 Assembly elections up to 2021, Tamil Nadu handed a clear mandate to a single party. The two Dravidian giants – DMK and AIADMK – alternated in power, always winning with allies but never governing with them. The slogan was unofficial but ironclad: win together, rule alone.
VCK MP D Ravikumar explained it plainly: the DMK and AIADMK came to power with absolute majorities, so alliance partners were never in a position to demand a share in power. Even in 2006, when DMK won only a thin majority, Congress extended support from outside — which meant parties like PMK and the Left still could not demand a share in power.
As recently as January 2026, DMK's Rural Development Minister I. Periyasamy declared publicly: "There will be no coalition government here. Tamil Nadu has always had single-party rule, and the Chief Minister is firm on this." In April 2025, senior AIADMK leader M. Thambidurai said the state has never witnessed a coalition government, whether under Congress veterans Rajagopalachari and Kamaraj or Dravidian stalwarts MGR and Karunanidhi — and that "it would never happen."
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