Tamil Nadu govt formation: Governor not satisfied with Vijay's claim of support; swearing-in unlikely on May 7

TVK chief Vijay on Wednesday met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and staked a claim to form the government in the state after the Congress, in a major political shift and realignment, announced its support for the actor-turned politician's party while severing its ties with the pre-poll ally DMK.

Two days after TVK emerged as the single largest party, shattering the decades-long, bipolar dominance of the DMK and AIADMK, its chief met Arlekar at Lok Bhavan after receiving an invitation from the Governor's office and gave him a list of Congress MLAs who pledged support.

However, Lok Bhavan sources indicated that a formal decision on inviting Vijay to form the government and holding the swearing-in ceremony has not yet been made, indicating that Governor Arlekar was not fully satisfied with Vijay's claim of support.

Criticising the delay by the Lok Bhavan in the formation of the TVK-led government, Congress Lok Sabha MP Jothimani said, “the Legislative Assembly is the place to prove majority and asserted that there was no need to prove majority in the Lok Bhavan.”

“The BJP must immediately stop playing politics via the Lok Bhavan. The Governor should immediately invite TVK leader Vijay to form the government,” she said.

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which won 108 of 234 seats, needs at least 10 more seats to reach the majority mark required to form the government.

With the Congress' five seats, the tally rises to 112, excluding one of the two seats that Vijay won.

The TVK chief, who contested from Perambur and Trichy East, has to resign from one seat. This will lower the majority mark to 117 and reduce TVK's tally to 107.

In a new political realignment, the Congress announced support for Vijay's TVK after its legislative party meeting here. It also announced breaking away from the DMK.

In a statement, AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar said: “This alliance - founded on mutual respect, appropriate share, and shared responsibility between the two parties - is not only for the formation of this government but also for future elections to local body organisations, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.”

Meanwhile, TVK sources said the party is keen on securing support from the VCK, the two Left parties and the IUML - constituents of the DMK-led alliance. However, none have given positive signals about joining hands with TVK, adding uncertainty to TVK's prospects for stitching together an early government.

“Vijay has sought our support. We will decide after ascertaining the views of our party's senior functionaries,” VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan told a news channel.

Sources said the VCK will hold a meeting on May 7 to decide on Vijay's request for support.

According to TVK sources, Vijay is expected to take the oath as Chief Minister on May 7 at an event in Nehru Indoor Stadium. Top Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge are likely to attend the ceremony. However, since the Governor has not invited TVK to form the government, the oath-taking seems unlikely on Thursday.

Reacting strongly to Congress' decision to support TVK, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai called the action “backstabbing”.

“The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging its support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu,” he told PTI videos.

When asked about the DMK's sharp comments, Congress' Pawan Khera said, “I would like to take you back to December 2013, when DMK at a press conference announced that they will fight the Lok Sabha polls alone.”

“It was their democratic right, and they did so. Did you ask them if this was backstabbing? This cannot be called backstabbing,” Khera said at a press conference in New Delhi.

“There are two parties (Congress-DMK), they fought elections together, what was the objective, it was that 'keechad' (filth and muck) should not spread,” he said, referring to his earlier remarks in the presser that “lotus blooms in 'keechad'”.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Chodankar also said the Congress party would be part of the new government. “We will not just support from outside,” he said. “For us, the people's mandate is supreme. We respect people's mandate,” he said.

Meanwhile, the TVK has also arranged for its legislators from the districts to stay at a resort in nearby Mamallapuram as it intensifies its efforts to secure the required numbers.