New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: With actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerging as a major force in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday hinted at the possibility of post-poll negotiations and alliances, even as he stopped short of suggesting any support from the Congress, which remains part of the DMK-led front.

Reacting to early trends that placed TVK short of the majority mark, Tharoor told ANI, "... I'm sure that the state government in Tamil Nadu will need allies because they are slightly short. If TVK is to form the government, they are a good, if I'm not mistaken, 10 to 13 seats short of the majority mark. They will have to look for allies to give them those seats. In those circumstances, presumably, all sorts of discussions are possible..."

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His remarks come amid a dramatic churn in Tamil Nadu politics, where TVK has cut into the dominance of both the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), emerging as a central player in a potentially fractured mandate.

According to data from the Election Commission of India as of 6 PM, TVK had won 30 seats and was leading in 78 others in the 234-member Assembly, placing it within striking distance of power but still short of the halfway mark of 118.

The DMK, led by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, had won 12 seats and was ahead in 49 constituencies. The Congress is part of the DMK-led alliance, making any direct support to TVK politically complex.

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Despite that, Tharoor’s comments underline the fluidity of the situation, with backchannel talks and political recalibrations likely in the coming days if no party reaches a clear majority.

TVK’s strong debut has been attributed to a mix of anti-incumbency sentiment and Vijay’s appeal among youth and women voters. The party’s campaign, driven largely by the actor himself, focused on welfare-heavy promises, including financial assistance schemes and subsidised LPG cylinders.

While Tharoor refrained from commenting on any specific alliance arithmetic involving Congress, his observation that “all sorts of discussions are possible” signals that a coalition phase may be imminent in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, commenting separately on the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, Tharoor raised concerns over voter exclusion linked to SIR, stating, "... SIR was a factor, but how much of a factor remains to be seen. There are questions as to whether the people who lost the right to vote were so numerous that they would have essentially affected the result... Secondly, there is some concern as to whether they were all people from a particular community or from a particular background. It appears that it is not true... So maybe, if so, the SIR, even if there were some injustices towards individual voters, it may not have affected the total conclusion... I think it was unfortunate that so many people who have voted in previous elections were denied an opportunity to vote again in this election..."