india

Updated: Jun 28, 2019 23:16 IST

Tamil Nadu’s main opposition party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), decided on Friday not to go ahead with the no-confidence motion it tabled against assembly speaker P Dhanapal that was to be taken up by the House for discussion and voting on July 1.

“The context and situation in which we gave notice for the no-confidence motion does not exist anymore,” Stalin, also Leader of the Opposition in the House, said.

Stalin spoke to reporters after adjournment of the first day of the assembly session, which will run until the end of July. The DMK was planning to raise several issues during the session to embarrass the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

The DMK withdrew its motion less than a week after Stalin enthused the party’s cadre that a change in government was possible and imminent even without elections. The DMK served notice of the no-confidence motion on May 1, after the speaker initiated the process of disqualifying three dissident AIADMK legislators.

Analysts said the DMK’s volte face on the no-confidence motion reflects the fact that it lacks numbers to dislodge the government. “Unless the DMK is able to ensure defections from the ruling party’s ranks, regime change is not a possibility,” reasoned political analyst Aazhi Senthilnathan.