Tamil Nadu, a State known for its duopoly in politics, seems to be heading towards hosting a third front in the Lok Sabha election, slated for April-May next year. The probability regarding the third front has gone up, with the AIADMK walking out of its four-year-old alliance with the BJP.
In the past 45 and odd years, there were non-DMK, non-AIADMK formations in the fray whose performance had, invariably, turned out to be a damp squib. Only once – in 2014 – a coalition independent of the two Dravidian majors could bag two Lok Sabha seats out of 38 by polling about 75 lakh votes with a vote share of 18.6%. Yet, with the BJP’s State president K. Annamalai making a serious attempt to disturb the grip of the bipolar system and acquire a strong electoral presence for his party in Tamil Nadu, the situation has become more curious this time than in the past.
As of now, allies of the DMK such as the Congress, two Left parties, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) have reiterated their support to the ruling party and declared that they will face the electorate together. What is still not known is the decision of other parties, including Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), Puthiya Tamilagam, New Justice Party and Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), all of which had faced the 2019 Lok Sabha poll or the 2021 Assembly election or both in the company of the AIADMK. Though these smaller parties know that they stand better chances of victory if they face the next year’s election as partners of the AIADMK, they are also not oblivious to the possibility of the BJP forming a government in New Delhi yet again, as a result of which they are unwilling to make any definitive move at this juncture.
