Actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlikar on Wednesday to claim power but was not invited to form the next government as officials said Lok Bhavan was seeking legal opinion to ensure Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) gets majority.
Vijay’s rising party broke the 50-year-old Dravidian duopoly to emerge as the single largest party in the Assembly elections earlier this week, winning 108 seats, 10 short of a simple majority in the 234-member House. It has the support of the five lawmakers in Congress, but has not yet received explicit support from any other party. Follow live updates on Tamil Nadu government formation here.
Vijay on Wednesday provided a list of names of TVK and Congress legislators who pledged support, Tamil Nadu Congress leaders said, requesting anonymity. But Lok Bhavan officials pointed out that no formal decision has been taken yet on inviting Vijay to form the government and hold the oath-taking ceremony. The governor is also seeking a legal opinion, officials added.
“The governor wants to ensure that Vijay has the support of a majority of MLAs,” said an official requesting anonymity. Lok Bhavan did not officially respond to HT’s queries on why Vijay was not invited.
Arlikar has dissolved the 16th Legislative Assembly with effect from May 5, Lok Bhavan said on Wednesday evening.
The unrest in the southern state following the dramatic results of the House of Representatives elections sparked changes in both major alliances.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) criticized the Congress for abandoning its two-decade-old alliance to support the actor. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has denied reports that it is considering supporting TVK after Lima MP Rose Martin said talks are ongoing. The Left and the Indian Union Muslim League pledged to support the DMK, ruling out support for Vijay.
How to add numbers
The halfway mark in Tamil Nadu is 118, and there are many groups that can reach this number; Late on Wednesday evening, social media was abuzz with rumors about various alliances that would achieve the number, including an unlikely combination of arch-rivals DMK and AIADMK, though DMK spokesperson A Saravanan denied the reports to news channel Times Now.
Vijay contested and won two seats. The 51-year-old candidate must resign from one seat within 14 days of notification of the election result.
The DMK won 59 seats, the AIADMK 47, the Congress 5, the PMK 4, and the VCK, IUML, CPI and CPI(M) two each. BJP, AMMK and DMDK won one seat each.
No swearing-in ceremony today?
With Governor Vijay not being invited to form the government, TVK’s plans to hold a grand swearing-in ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on May 7 in Chennai may be delayed. On Wednesday, TVK workers were seen preparing the venue for the grand party.
In India, governors usually invite the single largest party to form the government if no single party or pre-election coalition crosses the halfway mark, as happened in Maharashtra in 2019. However, there is no law for such scenarios and the Constitution leaves it to the governor’s discretion.
Legal expert Vijayan Subramanian said the governor had created “confusion”. “In S. Bommai v. Union of India, the Supreme Court categorically held that the question of majority should ordinarily be tested only on the floor of the Legislative Assembly and not by the personal or subjective assessment of the Governor,” he said.
Insisting on parading the elected leader first or showing support individually before the governor, without testing the ground, could go against the constitutional principles laid down by the Supreme Court, Subramanian added.
On Wednesday morning, Tamil Nadu Congress in-charge Girish Chodankar handed over a letter of support to Vijay at the TVK headquarters in Pannaiyar near Chennai.
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavavalavan said he and the Left parties had received letters from Vijay seeking their support. He added: “We will make the decision later.”
The VCK, CPI and CPI(M) were part of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) led by the DMK, along with the Congress.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a Congress ally in Kerala that has two MLAs in Tamil Nadu, said it would not support TVK.
IUML President Kader Muhyiddin said the SPA is not an “electoral alliance” but an ideological one.
He said: “We have constantly stressed that this is an alliance based on principles.”
“We have faced defeat now. But we are clear that neither the DMK nor the Muslim community will give up because of defeat. There is no confusion – just as we were yesterday with the DMK-led SPA and with MK Stalin, we are here today. And as we are here today, we will be there tomorrow too,” he added.
Both the Left parties expressed their support for the DMK. CPI(M) State Minister P Shanmugam said the Left parties are in alliance with the SPA and rejected allegations that the TVK had invited it to form its alliance.
The AIADMK has ruled out supporting TVK. “In no situation has the AIADMK extended support to TVK. We are issuing this clarification as per the directions of our party general secretary,” party deputy general secretary KP Munusamy said.
The comment carries significance as the newly elected MLA from Lalgudi, Leema Rose Martin, told reporters on Tuesday that talks between TVK and AIADMK are ongoing.
The Congress assured that it will be part of the new TVK-led government and share the responsibility of governance. In both the DMK and AIADMK governments, the alliance partners were not part of the government.
But this caused heartburn within the DMK. Party spokesman Saravanan Annadurai accused the Congress of betraying the India bloc partners. “I think this is a very short-sighted and short-sighted position that Congress has taken, which they will regret,” he said.
