Congress MP Manickam Tagore has stirred fresh political debate ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections after invoking the 2006 election outcome and suggesting that the Congress party erred in not implementing the people’s mandate at the time.
In a post on his X page, Tagore wrote that the people would decide whether Tamil Nadu should have a coalition government or a single-party government, adding that the failure to implement the people’s verdict in 2006 was a mistake committed by the Tamil Nadu Congress.
In his words, he wrote, “The people will decide. Whether it will be a coalition government? Or Whether it will be a one-party government. It is our @INCTamilNadu mistake not to implement the people’s verdict in 2006.”
His remarks come at a time when Congress leaders have been increasingly vocal about seeking a share in governance within the DMK-led alliance.
The statement has drawn attention particularly because Chief Minister MK Stalin asserted, while speaking at an India Today event, that power-sharing arrangements were not suitable for Tamil Nadu, effectively pushing back against Congress demands. Leaders such as Praveen Chakravarthy and Tagore himself have been pressing the issue of governance participation as alliance negotiations gather pace ahead of the polls.
Looking back at 2006: The election Tagore referenced
Tagore’s post has revived discussion around the 2006 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections and the political arrangement that followed.
At the time, the Congress party was in power at the Centre and was part of the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu, along with the PMK. In that election the DMK contested 132 seats and won 96 whereas the Congress contested 48 seats and won 34. The PMK contested 31 seats and secured 18 victories.
On the opposing side, the AIADMK contested 188 seats and won 61, the DMDK contested 232 seats but won 1 seat, while securing 8.4% vote share. No party secured an absolute majority in the Assembly.
Minority government with outside support
Despite the fractured mandate, the DMK went on to form the government on its own. The Congress and PMK extended outside support but were not given a share in the government.
Then Opposition Leader J Jayalalithaa repeatedly criticised the DMK administration as a “minority government,” using the issue as a political attack point across public platforms.
The experience of 2006 is widely seen as having shaped the DMK’s later electoral strategy. Determined to avoid reliance on outside support, the party began insisting on contesting a larger number of seats in subsequent elections to secure a clear majority.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK directly contested 173 seats. Stalin and several other DMK leaders have repeatedly stated that the party intends to contest no fewer than 200 seats in 2026 as well.
Source: OneIndia Tamil
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