Tamil Nadu State Law and Electricity Minister, Nirmal Kumar alleged that leaders linked to both Dravidian parties were approaching Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLAs with lucrative offers. He also accused DMK president MK Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin of being involved in the alleged attempts.
The minister further claimed that offers had gone up to Rs 60-70 crore, but insisted that no TVK legislator would accept the money or switch sides.
Police had also booked the brother of former DMK minister V Senthil Balaji in connection with the case. The latest allegations have been strongly contested by the DMK. Responding to the minister’s charges, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan rejected the suggestion that either the DMK or AIADMK had any reason to purchase TVK legislators. He accused the ruling party of itself resorting to horse-trading to stay in power. The political significance of the allegations goes beyond the immediate question of the government’s survival. For the first time in decades, both the DMK and AIADMK find themselves out of power, with the TVK having disrupted the state’s traditional two-party political equation. The Congress, a long-standing DMK ally, has crossed over to the TVK-led alliance following the Assembly elections, strengthening the Congress’s position in Tamil Nadu. This comes at a time when the BJP, in its third term at the Centre, is heading a minority government dependent on allies for its survival. The emerging TVK-Congress combination is seen within the BJP as a potential threat to the saffron party’s political prospects amid the rise of the Cockroach Janata Party.
In July, Tamil Nadu Police had arrested eight people, including a pollster, for allegedly offering Rs 35 crore to a TVK MLA to vote against the government in a proposed no-confidence motion. BJP sources say the party is worried that the TVK-Congress combination could sweep the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, much like the DMK-Congress alliance did in 2019 and 2024.
