Tamil Nadu assembly election: Alliances take shape amid AIADMK-DMK contest – spotlight on previous performance | India News

New Delhi: As the Tamil Nadu assembly elections approach, political activity in the state has intensified, with major alliances coming together and parties reshaping strategies based on past performance and evolving voter dynamics. The contest is again expected to center around the DMK-led alliance and the AIADMK-led NDA front, though BJP Trying to expand its footprint.D AIADMK It finalized seat-sharing with its key allies on Monday, allocating 27 seats to the BJP, 18 to the PMK led by its president Ambumani Ramadoss and 11 to the TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK, ending talks between the main opposition front elements for the assembly elections.In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK– led coalition returned to power after a decade winning 159 out of 234 seats. DMK itself won 133 seats with a vote share of around 36.8%. Its main ally, the Indian National Congress (INC), won 18 seats with a vote share of around 4.4%.On the other hand, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)-led alliance managed 75 seats, with the AIADMK winning 66 seats and a vote share of around 33.3%. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), contesting the AIADMK as part of the alliance, won 4 seats with about 2.6% of the vote.Smaller players also played a role in shaping the outcome. Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) won 5 seats, while Biduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) allied with DMK won 4 seats. Left parties including the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) won two seats each, contributing to the DMK-led bloc’s overall tally.The vote share breakdown highlighted a bipolar contest, with the DMK-led alliance collectively polling around 45%, while the AIADMK-led Front got around 39%, indicating a relatively united anti-incumbency vote against the then AIADMK government.Alliances have again become fluid as the state heads into the next election cycle. The DMK is expected to maintain its core alliance with the Congress, Left parties and VCK, banking on welfare schemes and record of governance. The AIADMK, meanwhile, is navigating internal challenges and alliance uncertainty, especially after a shift in its relationship with the BJP.The BJP, despite its limited vote share, is trying to emerge as a more dominant player by contesting more seats this time with an aim to convert its growing vote gains into seats.What is at stake in the upcoming elections is not just power in one of India’s most politically independent states, but also the future course of Dravidian politics, which has historically resisted the dominance of the National Party. While the DMK will seek to protect its mandate, the AIADMK faces the challenge of restructuring the leadership mix, and the BJP will test whether its expansion strategy can disrupt Tamil Nadu’s political binary.