In a sharp critique that has stirred Tamil Nadu's political landscape, TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam) general secretary Aadhav Arjuna launched a direct attack on the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Tuesday. Arjuna condemned the DMK's firm stance against sharing power with its alliance partners, declaring that an era of "cunning politics" is over in the state.
The Core Allegation: A 'Feudal Mindset'
Arjuna, in a detailed post on social media platform X, strongly backed the power-sharing demands raised by the Congress and other constituents of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance. He posed a pointed question: "Doesn't DMK's approach of using alliance partners whenever needed and discarding them later reflect a feudal mindset?" This, he argued, is a practice where a dominant party swallows the votes of its allies solely to retain power, a strategy he believes is now obsolete.
He provided a detailed breakdown of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to substantiate his claim. Arjuna pointed out that the DMK leadership itself celebrated leading in 221 assembly segments. However, the DMK contested only 22 parliamentary seats, which translates to roughly 132 assembly segments. The remaining 102 segment leads, he emphasized, came from constituencies contested by its allies like Congress, VCK, IUML, and MDMK.
The 2026 Assembly Election: A Turning Point
Arjuna framed the upcoming 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly polls as a potential watershed moment. He stated that neither the current ruling party nor the main opposition is in a position to secure even 40% of the vote independently, relying heavily on their allies' voter bases. "The time has come for leaders from oppressed and backward communities to come to power," he asserted, indicating that the demand for a share in governance is now a grassroots movement.
He challenged the DMK's rationale, asking why the seat-sharing formula that applied for the parliamentary elections—where allies got a significant share—should not be replicated for the state assembly. "From now on, power cannot be attained in Tamil Nadu without sharing power," Arjuna declared, framing it as the new political reality.
Countering DMK's Narrative
The TVK leader also preemptively countered potential rebuttals from the DMK. He warned that the DMK could no longer dismiss legitimate power-sharing demands by branding the proponents as agents of the RSS or BJP. Furthermore, he questioned the DMK's claim of being the guardian of minorities, noting that the party did not field a single Muslim candidate in the 22 seats it contested in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Arjuna concluded by stating that the slogan of "a share in governance and a share in power" is no longer just a political demand but a decisive factor. He predicted that this principle of self-respect and equitable partnership would ultimately determine the outcome of the 2026 Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election, signaling a fundamental shift away from what he describes as a top-down, feudal model of alliance politics.
