The DMK has temporarily silenced rumours about it secretly parleying with BJP leaders. Stalin has utilised the motion to reiterate his commitment to be a part of a secular alliance in 2019. Understandably, even in the run up to the no confidence motion, Stalin had played his cards well by appealing to the AIADMK to vote against the NDA, knowing fully well that the ruling party would not.

Lack of representation in the Lok Sabha, for once, came as a blessing in disguise for Stalin as he did not have to reveal his game plan for 2019, his recent high-decibel preaching about the virtues of secularism and federalism notwithstanding.

In the same vein, abstention of Chandrasekar Rao’s TRS, who was the first to come calling to pitch the idea of a non-BJP and non-Congress front of regional parties and Naveen Patnaik’s BJD from the trust vote must have disenchanted an already not-so-eager Stalin about the idea of being a part of a regional parties led alternate front during the ensuing Parliamentary elections. Elsewhere in the Congress, the ruling AIADMK’s support to NDA has also poured cold water on the hopes of a few Congressmen who were exploring the feasibility of divorcing a fence-sitting DMK and forging alliance with an unpopular ruling AIADMK.

Unsurprisingly, the ruling AIADMK, which was expected to abstain from voting like Shiv Sena, an estranged ally of BJP, has only angered the BJP-hating voters of Tamil Nadu and gave ammunition to the Opposition, which was quick to call the voting in favour of NDA a betrayal and manifestation of tacit alliance with the BJP. The reasoning of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha Thambidurai that the BJP govt would not have fallen even if they had voted against them in the motion has only confirmed the fears of the party about daring the saffron party. However, leaders like state Cooperative Minister Sellur K Raju understood the ramifications of their vote in the LS and rightly adored Rahul Gandhi (speech in the Parliament) saying, “a cultured and humble leader like his father. He will emerge as a future leader of the country,” a generous appreciation of the Congress president the AIADMK have been cautiously avoiding of late. For the state BJP, the outcome of the no-confidence motion has given fresh reasons to once again play Devil’s advocate for Palaniswami’s regime and bash DMK-led opposition.

New comers like TTV Dhinakaran, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and their ilk have conveniently kept low like other fringe players on the motion and the way the state went about it.