IUML ends alliance with the DMK after six decades

After sailing with the DMK for nearly six decades, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Saturday (June 20, 2026) announced its decision to leave the DMK-led alliance. The party, which won two Assembly seats as part of the DMK alliance, has already extended support to the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and joined its Ministry.

“We hoped that the Dravidian Model government would return to power and that M.K. Stalin would once again become the Chief Minister. We worked for that outcome during the election. But God’s will appears to have been otherwise. The ‘whistle’ symbol resonated across the State, people rallied behind Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, and the party won 108 seats,” Kader Mohideen, national president of the IUML, said while explaining the resolution adopted at the party’s general council meeting.

He said that since the TVK had fallen short of a majority, several parties, including the IUML, had extended support to it. “However, we informed DMK president M.K. Stalin about the desire within the Muslim community to support the TVK. We eventually extended our support without any preconditions. Had we not done so, it could have led to Governor’s rule, which would have indirectly amounted to BJP rule,” he said.

Mr. Kader Mohideen said the IUML decided to join the TVK Ministry after receiving approval from the party’s political advisory committee. “People say that the TVK-led government is providing good governance. We too want that to continue, and therefore we will remain in the alliance,” he said.

Asked about the party’s stand on forthcoming byelections in Tamil Nadu, he said that since the IUML had become part of the Ministry, it would cooperate with the TVK in Assembly byelections, Lok Sabha elections, and local body polls.