The victory of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) under the leadership of Joseph Vijay in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections has, for the first time since the DMK’s rise to power in 1967 and the launch of the AIADMK in 1977, broken the duopoly of Dravidian parties. It also appears to have upended the electoral arithmetic, moving beyond tactical alliances, money, and caste. In that sense, the verdict is a break from the past.

It also signals a deep anti-incumbency sentiment against the DMK-led government. The scale of the upset is reminiscent of the historic 1967 election, when K Kamaraj — once hailed by Periyar as a “trueborn Tamilian” — was defeated by a relatively unknown student leader in Virudhunagar. TVK may not have a long history of grassroots mobilisation that characterised the DMK’s rise, and M K Stalin’s defeat is no less significant than that of Kamaraj.

The DMK’s achievements did not resonate with the people. The party often highlighted Tamil Nadu’s relative success compared to BJP-ruled states, but did not do enough to address pressing concerns such as job creation, wage stagnation, and governance deficits. If the 2021 Assembly election was a referendum on the Dravidian model of growth and development, the 2026 election became a referendum on the Dravidian model of governance itself. Disillusionment with the DMK stemmed not only from inadequate employment opportunities and job quality but also from what many perceived as an alienating style of governance, particularly among the........

© Indian Express