THE political scenario in the state of Tamil Nadu is, not surprisingly, seeing heightened activity as the dates of the elections to the Legislative Assembly approach.

In its meeting in Pudukkottai held on December 2 and 3, 2025, the Tamil Nadu State Committee of the CPI(M) reviewed the political situation in the state. The draft document placed before the State Committee recalled the direction given by the political resolution of the 24th Party Congress that our main political task is to defeat the RSS-BJP and the nefarious Hindutva-Corporate nexus that underlies it. This demands the waging of a continuous battle against Hindutva ideology and communal political forces and mobilising all secular forces to this end. These points had also been emphasized in the Resolution adopted by the 24th State Conference of the Party held in January 2025.

Tactical Line for Assembly Election 2026

Bipolar politics, with DMK and AIADMK as the two main poles, has dominated the political scenario of Tamil Nadu for decades. This was noted in our 24th State Conference which also pointed out that there had been some erosion over time in the vote shares of these two major parties taken together and the state conference had pointed out that this was an opportunity for us to explore political alternatives. Our assessment of the current political scenario in the state must take this into account.

As far as electoral tactics with respect to the forthcoming elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly are concerned, the Central Committee of our Party has approved the tactics worked out by the state committee:  In Tamil Nadu, the Party will contest along with the DMK and its secular allies to defeat the BJP and its allies.

Recent Developments

In the recent period, the DMK and the government led by it have been responding positively to the challenges posed by the political situation to some extent. The participation of the Chief Minister in the demonstration in October 2025 in support of the people of Palestine and his declaration at the meeting that the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu will pass a resolution in support of Palestine evoked wide welcome. The DMK has taken a stand against the replacement of MNREGA by VB–GRAMG and participated in the joint struggle. Regarding  an important issue that our Party and movement had been highlighting for quite some time now, namely, the drafting and passing of a Special Act to deal with the horror of caste-based killing of persons that has been plaguing the state, the chief minister announced the constitution of a Commission headed by Justice K.N. Batcha, and a government order was also issued in October 2025. The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) and the Tamil Nadu unit of All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) have made their submissions to the Commission in this regard.

On some issues relating to working people and their demands, there has been some forward movement.  One important example of this is the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS) that the state government has introduced. This is a significant improvement on the existing Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as well as the National Pension Scheme though it falls short of the demand for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Some relief measures have been announced for MRB nurses, anganwadi workers and noon meal scheme workers. These were possible due to the strong struggles conducted by the concerned sections and the political pressure put up by the party.

Even as one recognises the severe financial constraints imposed by the Union government on the State, our Party has been stressing that the state government should respond to the discontent and unresolved issues among sections of teachers, government employees, employees of the state road transport corporations and workers and employees of the State electricity boards at the non-fulfilment of their legitimate demands.

Unhelpful Role of BJP-led Union Government

The Union government has been predictably unhelpful. They have denied the state government's request for financial support to the metro rail projects for the important tier II cities of Coimbatore and Madurai. The Union government has not taken forward the promised project of building the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Madurai. The demand of farmers affected by exceptionally severe rains for some relaxation in moisture norms for paddy procurement have been turned down by the government of India. Financial entitlements of the State in respect of school education schemes remain unmet so far. The list of genuine grievances of the state government is long and needs to be highlighted in the run-up to the elections.

The SIR in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, the SIR process saw an elimination of about 97,37,831 voters from the state’s base list of November 28, 2025. About 66,44,672 voters from the earlier list were said to be transferred out or not traceable. Our study found that those affected are mostly people living in rented houses or displaced for many reasons, who cannot provide adequate proof of address. This process has also disproportionately affected married women. The number of voters deleted from the old list is 26,95,672. The reason for deletion is recorded as death, which is exorbitantly high compared to the state’s average death rate. Among those who had already registered and got enlisted in the draft rolls, 12,43,363 voters have been issued notices. But written notices - as mandated by the Rules - haven't been served to any of them.

In Tamil Nadu, the Election Commission initially stated that voters need not provide information regarding 2002, 2005 voter list. Accordingly, many filled in only their present information and submitted the documents. However, now all of them are having to submit documents. Under such circumstances, the Election Commission has to ensure that not a single voter loses his/her voting rights due to the Commission’s own folly.

BJP and Allies Must be Defeated

As one would expect, the RSS–BJP dispensation has been very active, using its enormous financial resources and its large media presence to promote the narrative that they would be able to win and form a government. This is, of course, wishful thinking, though it is important not to underestimate the threat posed to democratic forces in the state by the RSS-BJP Parivar. The RSS Parivar has also been active in pushing its divisive and communal Hindutva agenda. A brazen case in point is its attempt to create and promote the controversy over the lighting of the lamp as part of a Hindu festival in Thirupparangkunram, a temple town in Madurai and a well-known shrine of the Hindu deity Muruga, demanding that the lighting should be done at a site very near a longstanding Dargah, specifically with a view to promote clashes among the members of Hindu and Muslim communities who have for centuries lived together amicably in the town. Though the Hindutva elements could win in the court, they could not win over the people. Their communal schemes to divide the people were defeated. DMK government took a firm stand in dealing with the situation. Our Party and mass organizations played a notable part in this struggle.

BJP is trying out various methods to bring back the factions which went away from AIADMK but AIADMK is not fully amenable to it. While AIADMK insists that the alliance is meant only for elections, Amit Shah is categorical that the goal is formation of a coalition govt. On many issues, though AIADMK cannot see eye to eye with BJP, it keeps quiet or goes along in the name of 'coalition dharma'.

Our Party and the mass organisations under our leadership have been actively mobilizing the people against the divisive and communal agenda of the BJP and the RSS Parivar in Thirupparangkunram and elsewhere. We have also mobilised the people against the pro-corporate and anti-people policies of the Union government. The Party and our mass and class organizations have been mobilising people against the vicious attacks launched by the Union government through such measures as abolition of MGNREGA, the anti-peasant Seed Bill, the anti-worker labour codes, and the serious encroachment on the powers of the state government by the RSS–BJP led Union government. There were massive agitations demanding patta in Chennai, Madurai and elsewhere. Interventions against attacks on women, children, Dalits and tribals have increased and justice secured in many cases.

Actor Vijay's TVK has been drawing youth in their meetings. He calls DMK as his political enemy and BJP as his ideological enemy though his main target seems to be DMK. After the stampede in his meeting in Karur leading to loss of more than 40 lives, the way he rushed back to Chennai without a word exposed the poor quality of his leadership and weakened his credibility.  His strength is untested so far.

All said and done, the political arithmetic in the state favours the DMK and its electoral allies. The fact that several potential constituents of the AIADMK-BJP front are, to some extent, in disarray and disagreement, will work in favour of the DMK and its electoral allies.

Vigilance is necessary, however, as the RSS-BJP combine, supported by the AIADMK, will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to dislodge the ruling party and its allies in Tamil Nadu.

A Final Word

It needs to be emphasised that, while it is absolutely critical that the DMK with its allies wins the coming Assembly election decisively, we need to look beyond the election as well in terms of projecting democratic, secular, federal and strongly pro-people policies and programmes. That requires continuous attention to pursuit of class and mass struggles on as wide a basis as possible.