Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK chief Vijay has alleged that the DMK and AIADMK have struck a tacit understanding ahead of the October 6 bye-elections, claiming the two parties have decided to let the DMK fight in Madurantakam and the AIADMK in Dharapuram.
The AIADMK had won both Madurantakam and Dharapuram in the assembly election. The seats fell vacant after MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama resigned and joined the TVK. Both are now contesting the October 6 bypolls.
Campaigning in Dharapuram for TVK candidate P Sathyabama, Vijay questioned the absence of senior DMK leader and former minister Senthil Balaji from the campaign, arguing that Dharapuram falls within his sphere of political influence. Addressing voters in Dharapuram, Vijay appealed to them not to vote for DMK or the AIADMK, which he accused of betraying the legacy of MGR and Jayalalithaa. “AIADMK and DMK are the same. He also denied Vijay’s claim that the two parties had attempted to form a government together after the assembly election.
Vijay also reiterated his allegation that the DMK and AIADMK had attempted to come together to form the government after the 2026 assembly election – a claim that both Dravidian parties have denied.
Without naming the BJP directly, Vijay also suggested that the two Dravidian parties were being controlled by a common political force, and said as long as people remained with the TVK, “no one can do anything”. Vijay said the AIADMK had objected after he raised the issue in the House, referring to party chief E Palaniswami subsequently calling his responses on the matter irrelevant. “Only DMK and AIADMK raise these allegations,” Vijay said, portraying the two parties as being politically aligned despite their public differences. Only outside they masquerade,” he said. Party spokesperson and former MP TKS Elangovan called the allegations “third-rate” and said his party had announced its candidate before the AIADMK.
