If the two Dravidian majors and their medley of allies had sworn against each other in the run up to the elections, Monday seemed to be a day of camaraderie in the shared sense of loss and the need for comprehension of the what had just happened.

A pall of gloom had descended on the counting centre at the Chettikarai government college of engineering in Dharmapuri, with seasoned political party agents and supporters having been stunned by the defeat of their parties.