On Wednesday, TVK Chief Vijay paid a visit to Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to stake a claim to form a government in the state.
Actor-turned-politician and TVK Chief Vijay — who marked an explosive debut in the state assembly election — bagged 108 out of 234 seats. However, it fell short of the majority mark, which stands at 118.
To garner support for forming a government, the TVK approached the Congress, VCK, and the Left parties.
The Congress — which won five seats — extended support to the TVK on the condition that any “communal forces” would be kept out of the coalition. “The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government, committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit”, according to a statement from Congress’s General Secretary KC Venugopal.
“The INC is determined not to allow the BJP and its proxies to run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner. Thiru Vijay has also spoken about drawing inspiration from Perunthalaivar Kamaraj”, he added.
Despite the grand old party’s support, the TVK is in need of five more seats to touch the majority mark.
AIADMK Rules Out Backing Vijay
The AIADMK ruled out extending support to the TVK, with the party’s Deputy Coordinator K.P. Munusamy saying, “Whatever the situation is, AIADMK will not support TVK”, according to news agency ANI.
The VCK that secured two seats said it was yet to make a decision on extending support to Vijay. “It will be decided by our party president, Thol Thirumavalavan,” a senior party functionary said, as quoted by PTI.
Oath-Taking In Doubt?
Sources told CNN-News18 that the oath-taking ceremony of Vijay was unlikely to take place on Thursday, May 7, as Governor Arlekar voiced his discomfort with TVK’s number game.
The TVK made a historic debut by winning 108 seats in the state assembly election that was held in a single phase on April 23.
The DMK bagged 59 seats, AIADMK 47, PMK 4, IUML 2, CPI 2, CPI(M) 2, and the BJP, DMDK, and AMMK one seat each.
