Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay is set to meet Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlikar as the actor-turned-politician moves to form the next government. On Monday, the TVK party achieved a historic victory in the state, but was unable to obtain a majority mark.
According to the Election Commission of India, the Vijay-led party won a total of 108 seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The majority mark to claim a stake in government formation in Tamil Nadu is 118 seats.
After TVK, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Party, led by outgoing Prime Minister M K Stalin, emerged as the largest party with a total of 59 seats. The AIADMK got 47 seats, while the Indian National Congress got five seats.
With Vijay short of ten seats, the TVK president must form an alliance in order to strengthen his claim to form the next government in the southern state.
During their meeting, the Tamil Nadu Governor is expected to present the TVK chief with two options.
What are Vijay’s options?
According to reports, the governor may ask Vijay to gather support from allied parties and submit the demand to form the state government.
If TVK wins 118 or more seats, the party will be invited to form the next state government.
If the Vijay-led party fails to muster support, the governor can invite the second largest party in the Assembly, the DMK.
In this scenario, the DMK can then get support from allied partners and upon reaching 118, it will be allowed to form the government.
According to reports, TVK is already in talks with Congress to join the government. However, with the Congress getting five seats, the Vijay-led party will need the support of another party to secure the remaining five seats.
However, it’s not that simple
TVK leader Vijay won in both the constituencies he contested – Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East. Based on Election Commission rules, Vijay will be asked to resign from one of these seats.
After the resignation, the total number of party seats will decrease by one to 107. Furthermore, TVK will also appoint a Speaker, who will not be eligible to cast his vote in the confidence motion, bringing the number of party seats down to 106. Hence, Vijay needs at least 12 seats or more in order to support his claim.
Vijay’s second option is to demand a minority government. In this case, TVK may form the government, but it will need strong support from other parties to pass legislation and confidence motions.
