PMK believes time has come for ‘coalition government’ in the State

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss’ recent comments that “PMK will be a part of the coalition government in the State in 2026” has added weight to various other political parties’ call for power sharing to strengthen democracy in the State.

Meeting reporters in Sholinghur recently, Dr. Anbumani reiterated, “I have always said it: in 2026, there will be a coalition government and PMK will be a part of it. Elections are still one-and-a-half years away, we will take a decision based on the situation then and all alliance partners will feature in it.”

Senior PMK leaders state that when none of the political parties can form a government in the State on their own, they cannot justify denying their alliance partners a share in power.

“How can any party justify not sharing power when they cannot form a government without their alliance partners? Tamil Nadu is moving towards it [coalition government]. Today, we have reached a situation where nobody can form the government in the State without alliance partners. Then, how can they say they won’t share power? Does DMK have the courage to contest in all 234 seats alone and form the government?” asked PMK spokesperson, K. Balu.

Mr. Balu further underlined that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, despite winning a majority in 2014 and 2019, chose to accommodate their allies.

“Coalition doesn’t mean that there will be a confusion about who will lead the alliance and who will form the government. There are 35 ministers present government. What is wrong in accommodating their allies?” he asked.

Another senior leader said both the Dravidian parties are realising that time has come for a ‘coalition government’. While Dr. Anbumani said the decision regarding whether the PMK would continue to with the National Democratic Alliance and BJP in the State closer to the elections and based on the situation existing then, senior PMK leader said the answer to the question lies in the cryptic social media post made by PMK founder Dr. S. Ramadoss on November 3, in which he said ‘Old must give way to the new’, suggesting the party will likely rethink its alliance.

Published - November 09, 2024 12:44 am IST