CHENNAI: The induction of two Congress MLAs into the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has created history with the formation of the first true coalition government since the first ever election seven decades ago.
After Independence, the then Madras State conducted its first Assembly election in 1951-52. Despite being the dominant political force in the country, the Indian National Congress managed to win only 152 seats in the 375-member Madras Legislative Assembly in that election, garnering nearly 35 per cent vote share.
Though it was the largest party, the Congress failed to secure a clear majority on its own. The Communist Party of India was the second largest party in the Assembly with 62 seats.
Meanwhile, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which was formed in 1949 after the split in the Dravidar Kazhagam, did not contest the election. Instead, it reached out to non-Congress parties, including the CPI and others, offering support. In return, the DMK sought written assurance that those parties would back its agenda and policies.
While others rejected the demand, some like the Commonweal Party led by Vanniyar leader MA Manickavelu agreed to it, and won the six seats in that election.
As none of the parties secured simple majority – 183 MLAs – the non-Congress parties came to form a coalition, United Democratic Front, under Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party leader T Prakasam. However, the Commonweal Party broke away from the understanding that it had with the DMK and instead merged with the Congress so that veteran leader C Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji, could become the Chief Minister of Madras State.
The government, however, lasted for only two years, and K Kamaraj became the Chief Minister of Madras.
Since then, Tamil Nadu politics witnessed stable majority governments, led either by the DMK or the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
Coalition-era equations briefly resurfaced in 2006, when the DMK under M Karunanidhi formed the government with 96 seats, less than the majority number of 118, with outside support from the Congress and PMK. However, these alliance partners were not accommodated in the Cabinet.
The current political scenario has once again drawn attention because the Congress, the grand old party of Indian police, has extended support to the two-year-old Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to facilitate government formation, after the 2026 Assembly election delivered a fractured mandate.
Now, Congress MLAs S Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan have been inducted into the Tamil Nadu Cabinet, marking the party’s return to State government after 59 years.
With the inclusion of Congress representatives in the government, Tamil Nadu is witnessing a coalition government after nearly 74 years since the first election.