Suspense over the formation of the government in Tamil Nadu reached its peak on Friday, as actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay met Governor Rajendra Arlikar for the third time in three days and the Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) moved towards the majority mark.
But there was no official word from Lok Bhavan till press time as people aware of the developments said the TVK was unable to prove that it has a majority in the 234-member House.
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Vijay, flanked by senior TVK functionaries, called on Arlikar, seeking to form the government after the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – both parties have legislators – offered their “unconditional support”.
Earlier in the day, the two Left parties also handed over letters to Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar. Around 6.30 pm on Friday, for the third time, Vijay along with senior party functionaries went to Lok Bhavan and visited Arlikar. He submitted the letters to the governor.
But Vijay – whose party TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly – was unable to get an explicit statement of support from Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) at the time of the Lok Bhavan meeting. No letter from VCK was included in TVK’s memorandum submitted to the governor, the people cited above said.
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The above persons said that no letter from VCK was included in TVK’s memorandum submitted to the governor. CPI and CPI(M) leaders met the press after extending their support to TVK with CPI state minister M Veerapandian saying that VCK chief Thol Thirumavavalavan has already gone on record that he will extend his party’s support if the Left parties extend their support to TVK. Another smaller party, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), issued a vague statement that two of its legislators would support the governor’s initiatives “towards government formation”, but did not clearly state its position.
This means that TVK, which has the support of five Congress legislators, may have stopped at the halfway mark. Vijay contested and won two seats. The 51-year-old must resign from one seat within 14 days of notification of the election result.
As a result, the caucus effectively had 117 legislators as of Friday night.
If two VCK legislators are added to the tally, the number rises to 118 – just above the majority mark.
Congress wants to be part of the government State unit president K Selvaperunthagai on Friday said that TVK has offered the party two ministerial posts and a Rajya Sabha seat. Both left-wing parties said publicly that they would support the government from abroad. It was not clear what the VCK had decided.
Although the VCK is yet to officially make its announcement, the party’s deputy secretary-general, Fani Arasu, in a social media post, demanded that his party seek the position of deputy prime minister and a cabinet position.
Vijay’s rising party broke the 50-year-old Dravidian monopoly to emerge as the single largest party in the Assembly elections on Monday. But since then, the state has been embroiled in a government formation drama that has sparked speculation that the two Dravidian rivals – the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which won 59 seats, and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which won 47 seats – may come together.
On Friday, the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) extended its support to AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palanisamy and urged the governor to invite the party to form the government. AMMK president TTV Dhinakaran said the party’s lone elected legislator Kamaraj S supports the party’s stand.
CPI(M) State Minister M Veerapandian and CPI(M) State Minister P Shanmugam spoke at a joint press conference in which they extended “unconditional support” to the TVK from abroad. Shanmugam clarified that the Left parties will not seek ministerial posts.
Veerapandian said VCK president Thol Thirumavavalavan has already gone on record that he will support any decision taken by the Left parties. To be sure, there has been no official statement from the VCK president as of press time.
“TVK approached CPI, CPI(M) and VCK. We held our party meeting. It is normal in a democracy to have ups and downs. The people of Tamil Nadu supported and decided to elect TVK. We took a decision in a democratic way,” Veerapandian said.
Shanmugam said the parties extended their support to prevent delay in forming the government in the state, impose President’s Rule, and to ensure that the BJP does not enter “through the back door”.
“VCK also said that it will take the same decision as CPI and CPI(M). VCK is also extending its support to TVK. Soon, VCK leader will come and tell you all about this,” the CPI(M) state minister added.
“Joseph Vijay has written a letter to both the parties. Because if the government is not formed by the 10th, President’s rule will come. The BJP is trying to enter Tamil Nadu through the back door. So, to end this, CPI and CPI(M) have decided to support TVK,” he said. He also said that the parties would not be in the cabinet and provided support to ensure that the elections would not be repeated.
The CPI(M), in an official communication, expressed its “support” to the TVK for the purpose of forming a government in the state, while the CPI(M) extended “conditional support” to the Vijay-led party in favor of “stable, secular and democratic governance for the people of TN”.
After calling the governor, Vijay went straight to the Left parties’ office in Thiagarayanagar in Chennai.
The Congress said it would join the government. “They (TVK) said two ministers and one Rajya Sabha member. However, the final decision on the number of portfolios and specific demands rests with the Congress national leadership,” Selvaperunthagai said.
IUML leader Shahjahan said his party did not extend any support to anyone and dismissed the rumors as “rumours”. “We have not supported anyone. We have not sent any message to anyone. These are all rumours. We are continuing the alliance under the leadership of the DMK.” He told reporters.
Asked if the party would not support TVK, he said: “There is no doubt about it. We are continuing under the DMK alliance.”
