Chennai, May 7 DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday chaired a crucial meeting of the party's newly elected MLAs at Anna Arivalayam in Chennai as the party prepared to assume the role of the Opposition amid continuing uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu.
The meeting was attended by all victorious DMK legislators and focused on the evolving political situation in the state, the party’s legislative strategy, and the future course of action following the Assembly election verdict.
The post-election political landscape in Tamil Nadu has witnessed dramatic realignments. In the recently concluded Assembly elections, the DMK-led alliance secured 73 seats.
However, the Congress, which had won five seats as part of the alliance, later shifted its support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) led by actor-politician C. Joseph Vijay.
The TVK emerged as the single largest formation with 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly.
Amid the rapidly changing political scenario, the TVK has also been attempting to rally support from smaller parties. Sources said the party has initiated discussions with the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), each of which has four MLAs in the new Assembly.
Their support is being considered significant in the ongoing political calculations as parties continue exploring possible alignments. Despite these efforts, the DMK alliance, which now effectively commands the support of 68 MLAs following the Congress exit, appears set to occupy the Opposition benches in the Assembly.
The election results also dealt a personal setback to Stalin, who lost the Kolathur Assembly constituency to TVK candidate V.S. Babu by a margin of nearly 10,000 votes.
The defeat marked one of the biggest political setbacks for the DMK leadership in recent years.
However, Udhayanidhi Stalin retained the Chepauk-Triplicane constituency, strengthening his position within the party. Political observers believe he is now likely to be elected leader of the DMK Legislature Party, a move that could pave the way for him to become the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
Meanwhile, Stalin is learnt to have assured party legislators that the DMK would not interfere in the ongoing efforts by the TVK to secure the support of 113 MLAs required to form the next government in Tamil Nadu.
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