Public sentiments for AIADMK in TN: Thambidurai, Akhilesh slams Cong

In Tamil Nadu, political uncertainty continue where smaller parties have emerged as the real power brokers. AIADMK MP M Thambidurai on Friday said public sentiments in Tamil Nadu were in favour of the party returning to power and exuded the hope that the organisation would be at the helm with "god's grace." Declining to comment on the speculation over a post-poll pact with archrival DMK, he said he could say for certain that public sentiments were for the AIADMK to come back to power in the state."That is the feeling... there is public sentiment that AIADMK has to come to power. Whenever my leader Edappadi K Palaniswami visited them, public showed their emotions... that may happen in due course of time with god's grace," Thambidurai told reporters in Chennai.
The 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly has thrown up a hung verdict with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerging as the single largest party with 108 seats - 10 short of the halfway mark of 118 needed to form the government. With Congress extending support to TVK, Vijay currently has the backing of 113 MLAs, still five short of the majority mark.The Congress and DMK were allies under the INDIA bloc of opposition parties, while the BJP had allied with the AIADMK for the Tamil Nadu election 2026. The DMK, however, has criticised the Congress move of extending support to the TVK.
BJP chief Nainar Nagendran has said that the BJP will not attempt to form a government in Tamil Nadu as it has not recieved the mandate from the voters. Nagendran posted on 'X': :The BJP which is committed to the welfare and the progress of the people of Tamil Nadu and had participated in the election process with the same fervour. However, the election results are gracefully accepted by our party and we feel that the people of Tamil Nadu have not given any mandate for BJP to form the government."
BJP chief Nainar Nagendran has said that the BJP will not attempt to form a government in Tamil Nadu as it has not recieved the mandate from the voters. Nagendran posted on 'X': :The BJP which is committed to the welfare and the progress of the people of Tamil Nadu and had participated in the election process with the same fervour. However, the election results are gracefully accepted by our party and we feel that the people of Tamil Nadu have not given any mandate for BJP to form the government."
The Congress faces criticism from an ally for dumping its all-weather partner DMK after its resounding defeat. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav this morning posted his images with Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin, the political bosses who have recently lost power in their states, and said, "I am not the ones who abandon each other in times of difficulty."

हम वो नहीं जो मुश्किलों में साथ छोड़ दें। pic.twitter.com/p1EosEJtvV

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) May 8, 2026

His latest post appears to be an indirect dig at the Congress, two days after the party ditched the DMK and offered the conditional support of its five MLAs to the TVK. With its support, Vijay now has 113 seats.