Palaniswami has not built a strong alliance to win anti-incumbency votes, says PT chief K. Krishnasamy

If the Dravidian parties had promised their allies a share of power, the results would have been much different, says Krishnasamy. | Photo credit: S. SHIVARAJ

A fragmented mandate in the recent State Assembly elections could have been avoided if the Edappadi K. Palaniswami-led AIADMK had been accommodating to its alliance partners and built a strong coalition that could attract anti-incumbency votes, Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) founder K. Krishnasamy said on Friday.

Dr. Speaking at the Hindu office in Chennai, Krishnasamy said that though the DMK had fulfilled its promises like Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam, people felt that it had failed to ensure good governance – lack of law and order, caste killings, security for businesses and women, good roads, sufficient number of buses resulting in proliferation.

“More than the economic schemes, people felt that the DMK government did not provide good governance. Anti-incumbency was supposed to help AIADMK, but they did not build an alliance good enough to win those votes. EPS and BJP made mistakes. People wanted good governance. How the alliance failed to create a story about why all partners are sending a viable third alternative. So people preferred a viable third option. Can people endure intra-party problems (among OPS) for long and EPS) AIADMK?said.

Dr. Krishnasamy said other political parties had been preparing people for an alternative to the two main Dravidian parties — the DMK and the AIADMK — over the past few decades, but it was Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s TVK that was able to channel that sentiment.

“Many political parties have tried to form a third front to defeat both these parties – the Communists tried it in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, Moopanar (GK Moopanar’s Tamil Maanil Congress) and Puthiya Tamilagam in 1999, other parties in 2016, as well as Vijayakant, Sarath Kumar and all Bhagyarajam who tried it their way (Nadad Tamil, Tamil). People) for alternative to these two Dravidian parties, the TVK, led by Vijay, gave hope and shape to this expectation and channeled this sentiment The PT has consistently declared that there should be no ‘one party’ rule – that both the DMK and the AIADMK must change and include other parties in the cabinet,” the Times said and was the first to report.

Dr. Krishnasamy further said that while he felt that no party would get a majority in the 2026 assembly elections, he believed that the DMK would emerge as the single largest party. “I said this at one of the press meets in Coimbatore. I believed that since the DMK is the ruling party and has a strong alliance, it will win more seats (than other parties). If the Dravidian parties had promised power share to their allies, the results would have been much different,” he said.

He added that the established Dravidian parties, and especially the DMK, should have sensed the shifts happening on the ground. “The established political parties did not expect this result, but they should have sensed it… because they had all the modern systems to sense it. But they continued the old traditions.”

Asked if the inclusion of eight scheduled caste MLAs in the cabinet can be considered a historic moment for social justice in the state, Dr. Krishnasamy responded that the development can only be seen as positive considering that Scheduled Castes constitute 20% of Tamil Nadu’s population.

“It cannot be said to bring about social justice simply by accommodating them (SC) in the ministry. It is also not possible for eight ministers alone to ensure social justice in Tamil Nadu. The ideology of the state government is important… On the other hand, a single minister can ensure social justice in Tamil Nadu… the state government could ensure social justice without such representation. At one time there were only nine ministers in Tamil Nadu who were part of the cabinet like Sathyavani. Muthu, they were the real voice (SC) who took up the cause Today, when there are 35 ministers, it is expected that 20% of the population must be adequately represented, be that as it may, we have to see it positively.

Published – 31 May 2026 22:44 IST