The DMK members have been indulging in showing their alliance partners in poor light for quite some time now. The DMK chief and TN CM Stalin ruled out sharing of power with the Congress in the upcoming election related discussions. Next in line is their ally, the MDMK – Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam headed by Vaiko.
A fresh political controversy erupted after DMK spokesperson Salem Dharanidharan made sharp remarks about MDMK chief Vaiko, a current ally of the DMK, during the India Today Roundtable Tamil Nadu 2026 event, triggering debate within Tamil Nadu’s alliance ecosystem.
Speaking on the evolution of Dravidian parties and political splits from the DMK, Dharanidharan referred to Vaiko’s 1990s breakaway and subsequent electoral trajectory.
“In ’96, right? or ’94 rather, Vaiko split away from DMK. In ’91, DMK got two legislative members, MLAs, only two MLAs in ’91. He split the party, nearly 50% of the district secretaries of the DMK went with Vaiko. He was the most charismatic leader at that point of time. ’96 election he could not do anything. 2000 election zero. 2008-09 he’s been in an alliance with us. Why? Because he did not have grassroots cadres. Why was MGR successful and why not Vaiko was simply because MGR was part of DMK. He grew the DMK party and the party split horizontally, which means even the grassroots cadres, the BLA too went with MGR. And then Jayalalithaa inherited that party. But Vaiko, in spite of taking majority of the district secretaries of the DMK, had become a nobody simply because of no grassroots strength.”
திமுக காங்கிரஸ் காரர்களை திட்டுகிறார்கள்.
காங்கிரஸ் விசிகவை திட்டுது. விசிக காங்கிரஸை திட்டுது.
திமுக, வைகோ is a nobodyனு அசிங்கபடுத்துறாங்க.
என்ன கண்றாவி கூட்டணி இது. pic.twitter.com/7i32q578AJ
— Krishna Kumar Murugan (@ikkmurugan) February 11, 2026
The remarks have drawn attention because Vaiko’s MDMK remains an ally within the DMK-led alliance framework.
Vaiko, a veteran Dravidian leader, had split from the DMK in the 1990s to form the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK). Despite fluctuating electoral fortunes, his party has periodically aligned with both major Dravidian blocs over the years.
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