Will 'ideological cohesion' help DMK bloc steal a march on rivals at the 2026 hustings?

WITH the Assembly elections just a year away, the aura of invincibility surrounding the DMK alliance, which got strengthened after the bloc's landslide victory in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, has not waned fully.

- K EZHILARASAN @Chennai

The DMK's fight for states' rights, its time-tested organisational structure, ideological cohesion of the allies, and the opposition's perceived inability to create a strong narrative against the government that could resonate with the electorate at large may have given the ruling alliance an upper hand in the perception battle.

Although the AIADMK and BJP have patched up their alliance after nearly two years, in a bid to consolidate the "anti-incumbency" votes, it is yet to be seen how successful this alliance will be in achieving its objective, considering the bitter rivalry they showed towards each other in 2024. Besides, the consolidation could also be disrupted by new entrants such as the TVK.

It can be noted that the DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin consistently describes the alliance he leads as an ideological one rather than merely political. In contrast, AIADMK which opposed BJP's policies like the three-language formula and the Waqf Amendment Act, had to defend the new alliance by arguing that "coalition and ideology are different".