Chennai:
The gloves came off in Tamil Nadu Friday morning.
The DMK and its former ally – the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi – traded poetic jabs over the latter’s post-poll support for Chief Minister Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. And then the TVK came out swinging in defence of its new ally.
The bout began with DMK MP A Raja’s X post about a “crooked coconut tree”, i.e., a metaphor in classical Tamil literature about a tree that curves as it grows, away from the land it was planted on, to offer its fruits to people in the neighbouring plot.
Used traditionally to describe ‘undeserving’ individuals, the reference was to the VCK breaking from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance and joining the TVK, after having benefited from its support during the election to win two seats.
Translated from Tamil, Raja’s X post read: “If the coconut in my home garden, bends over and offers tender water to the opposite house, in literature that would be named ‘muttatthengu‘!”
என் வீட்டுத் தோட்டத்துத்
தென்னை
கூனி வளைந்து
எதிர் வீட்டிற்கு இளநீர் தந்தால் இலக்கியத்தில்
அதற்குப் பெயர்
”முடத்தெங்கு”!
அரசியலில் என்ன பெயர் சூட்டலாம்?வாழ்க தமிழ்!
— A RAJA (@dmk_raja) May 22, 2026
“What name should we give it in politics?”
In a second tweet, he said: “As Periyar (i.e., the founder of the Dravidian ideology that drives Tamil Nadu’s social, cultural, and political identity) said, ‘though we will wait for a change in the situation… we will continue to fight and victory shall be ours’.”
Raja also made a vulgar tweet (now deleted) comparing the switch to a woman cheating on her husband.
VCK hit backs
SS Balaji – who won the Thiruporur seat in the 2021 election – demanded to know why the DMK was upset about the rise of a party representing an oppressed community. The VCK was earlier the Dalit Panthers Iyyakkam, or Dalit Panthers of India.
“Power to the humble… what rage is there in it?” his counter-verse began.
அதிகாரம் எளியவர்க்கு
அதிலென்ன ஆத்திரம்
ஆற்றாமையால் அள்ளிவீசும்
அவதூறுகள் அசைத்திடாது
அமைதியாய் கடப்பது
அநாகரீகம் தவிர்க்கவே.
அநீதி தொடர்ந்து
அனைத்தும் உரைத்தால்
அணைக்க முடியா
அனலில் தகித்து போவீர்! https://t.co/nUUAckXaVH— VCK S.S.Balaji (@VckBalaji) May 22, 2026
Translated from Tamil, the rest of the post read:
“Helplessness flings about,
slander that will not sway you.
Cross it in peace to avoid the uncouth.
If injustice persists and you voice it all,
unable to dam the flames, you will burn up…”
RECAP | Two MLAs From IUML, VCK Take Oath In Vijay’s Cabinet In Tamil Nadu
“Peak of uncivility”: TVK
In a lengthy post of its own, the TVK said Raja’s comments “regarding the democratic principle of power-sharing… transgresses the boundaries of ethical political decorum (and) represents the very pinnacle of indecency!”
The DMK’s tendency to engage in derogatory criticism and adopt a threatening tone whenever parties committed to social justice assert their rights or articulate alternative political viewpoints merely serves to expose the party’s own arrogance…”
“Fearing that the honest and inclusive political philosophy of power-sharing, championed by the TVK, will dismantle their family-centric political monopoly, members of the DMK have lost their composure and begun to spout incoherent nonsense!”
“அதிகார பகிர்வு” என்ற மக்களாட்சிக் கோட்பாடு குறித்த விடுதலைச் சிறுத்தைகள் கட்சி (விசிக) மற்றும் இந்திய யூனியன் முஸ்லிம் லீக் (IUML) ஆகிய கட்சிகளின் நிலைப்பாடுகளைக் கொச்சைப்படுத்தும் விதமாகவும், தார்மீக அரசியல் நாகரிக எல்லைகளை மீறியும் திமுக நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் திரு. ஆ.ராசா… pic.twitter.com/qUWotKIG78
— TVK IT Wing Official (@TVKHQITWingOffl) May 22, 2026
“You’ve exposed your true form yourself…” the TVK’s IT wing chortled.
Why the poetry back-and-forth?
The DMK and VCK contested last month’s election as allies.
MK Stalin’s party was widely expected to win – just as it had won the 2021 Assembly election and swept the state in the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls – and inflict a fourth consecutive major electoral defeat on its great rival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
However, the DMK slipped to a shock defeat to actor-politician Vijay’s TVK, which won 108 of the state’s 234 seats. The win ended DMK and AIADMK’s 59-year stranglehold on Tamil politics.
But the TVK finished 10 short of majority – 118 – and needed outside support.
The Congress’ five seats helped take Vijay’s party halfway to that mark and then came four days of drama as the VCK, the Indian Union Muslim League, and two Left parties delayed support.
RECAP | Stalin Gives DMK Allies Free Hand Over Vijay Tie-Up Amid Uncertainty
The delay was in part due to discussions with the DMK over backing the TVK in order to keep the AIADMK – which had allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party – from reclaiming power in the state.
Initial reports suggested the VCK would remain part of the opposition alliance while offering external support to Vijay. However, earlier this week it was confirmed it would, in fact, join the government and get cabinet berths, a change that has not gone down well with the DMK.
