CHENNAI: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Saturday announced that it has officially broken its 64-year-old alliance with the DMK, marking only the third time the party has walked out on the DMK since they first partnered in 1962.
The decision was taken at the party’s state general council meeting held in Chennai. One of the resolutions adopted at the meeting said the party had supported the formation of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government after respecting the mandate given by the people in the 2026 Assembly election. It also noted the IUML is part of the government headed by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and that, under the present political situation, it is not possible for the party to continue in the DMK alliance.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, IUML national president KM Kader Mohideen said the party had been a long-time ally of the DMK and had won elections only as part of the DMK-led alliance. He said the IUML had expected the DMK alliance to return to power and had campaigned strongly for it during the election.
However, after the results were announced, the party leadership held discussions with DMK president MK Stalin and other leaders before deciding to extend support to the TVK government without any conditions to avoid political uncertainty in the state.
It may be noted that the IUML was not part of the DMK-led alliance between 1999 and 2004 when the DMK aligned with the BJP.
‘Delimitation based on population would ensure fair share for minorities’
During the 1999 Lok Sabha election and the 2001 Assembly election, the IUML was a constituent of the AIADMK alliance. In the 1996 Assembly election too, the IUML was part of the AIADMK front. In that election, Kader Mohideen contested from Periyakulam seat on AIADMK symbol but was defeated by DMK candidate.
In another resolution, IUML urged the state government to carry out ward delimitation for local bodies based on population rather than the number of houses. The party alleged the previous delimitation exercise was carried out using the number of houses as the main criterion, leading to major differences in voter strength between wards.
The resolution said population-based delimitation would ensure fair representation for minorities in local bodies and help improve development works in areas where minority communities live in large numbers. The party also sought rotation of wards reserved for women and called for a transparent delimitation process.
The Left parties, CPI and CPM, had earlier extended outside support to TVK and had said it was not possible for them to continue in the DMK alliance, citing the present political situation. Another DMK ally, MDMK, has scheduled its general council meeting for June 27. MDMK general secretary Vaiko had announced that a decision on the party’s alliance with DMK would be taken at the meeting.
‘DMK, AIADMK can join hands’
DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi said there had been no post-poll talks between DMK and AIADMK on forming alliance, but said there is nothing wrong if the two decide to join hands in the future.