• Source:JND

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has received support from the Congress party to form the government in Tamil Nadu after making a blockbuster debut on the political stage. On Wednesday, Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Lok Bhavan and claimed the majority to form the government.

However, the oath-taking ceremony, scheduled for tomorrow, is likely to be delayed as Vijay does not have the number. According to a report by ANI, citing sources, TVK "does not have official figures as of now", and the Governor is apparently not convinced about the numbers so far.

Congress support not enough

Vijay claimed the majority after Congress forsook its long-term ally, the DMK, to join hands with TVK. AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar said that the grand old party decided after Vijay's request seeking support.

Congress has put a rider of no-entry to 'communal forces. Chodankar said, "Our support shall be conditional upon the TVK keeping out of this alliance any communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution of India."

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However, the Congress support alone will not be enough for TVK to cross the magic number. In the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, a party or a coalition needs the support of at least 118 members to form the government.

TVK, the single-largest party, has 108 seats, 10 short of the majority mark. Congress's weighing in has bridged the gap to 5 seats.

However, this is where the situation becomes complex for Vijay. CPI-M, IUML, CPI, and VCK have won two seats each in the state. All of these parties are DMK allies, and except for VCK, all have refused to support Vijay's claim to the government.

What options are left with Vijay?

The remaining parties with numbers are AIADMK, BJP, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), DMDK and TTV Dinakatran's AMMK.

According to reports, AIADMK initially revisited its stance on an alliance with TVK and was ready to extend support. However, TVK hit a pause after Congress decided to weigh in. As AIADMK has 47 seats, its support would glide TVK past the majority comfortably, but at a cost of sharing a significant influence in the government with Edappy Palaniswami.

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It is for that reason that Vijay was believed to be exploring other options. The AIADMK has now ruled out extending support to TVK. The stance of VCK remains crucial for TVK as it has two MLAs. Although Vijay would need three more MLAs to form the government in such a scenario.

This leaves less of a possibility for Vijay to avoid reaching out to NDA parties. As the TVK-AIADMK deal is impossible now, Congress's entry has already ruled out the BJP.

AMMK and DMDK (not an NDA member) have only one seat each, and therefore, PMK with 4 seats becomes a key player.

It has contested with the AIADMK, but reports suggest that the party was in talks with TVK. PMK chief Anbumani Ramadoss has reportedly asked for the deputy CM post for his wife and Dharmapuri MLA Soumya Ramadoss. If not AIADMK, TVK has no other option but to negotiate with PMK to form the government.


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