Tamil Nadu Government Formation: The suspense over TVK chief Vijay's oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu on Saturday continued even after his third meeting with the Governor Rajendra Arlekar, in which he reportedly claimed a stake to form a government. After the meeting, The Hindu, citing sources, reported that the Governor is convinced that the TVK has achieved the majority number: 118.
What Is Current Status Of Tally In Favour Of Vijay?
With the Left - CPI - 2 and CPI (M) - 2 - officially announcing their support to Vijay, the TVK neared the magic number. The Congress already extended the support of its five MLAs to Vijay.
As per the calculations, the strength of TVK and its supporting MLAs now stands at 116, taking into account the requirement of Vijay resigning from one of the two seats he contested from-- Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East.
Numbers At Play
TVK: 108, but the effective number is 107
Congress: 5
CPI: 2
CPI-M: 2
Total: 116
This shows the TVK-led alliance is still short of two MLAs.
Suspense Over VCK, Ally Of DMK
A few hours ago, it was reported that Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) decided to support the TVK, but news agency ANI deleted X post, deepening the suspense. Till late at night, there was no official statement neither on support nor on rejection from the VCK. However, Though VCK did not make any official announcement immediately on support to TVK, party chief Thol Thirumavalvan has asserted several times that his party's stand will be in sync with the line taken by the Left parties.
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IUML Says It Is With DMK
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) said it will not support Vijay's initiatives towards government formation. IUML leader Aduthurai Shahjahan said, "We didn't support anybody. We didn't give any letters to anybody. This is just a rumour. We are continuing with the alliance under the leadership of DMK. No, there is no question of that. We are continuing with the DMK alliance."
In another development on Friday, Vijay visited the offices of the CPI and CPI (M) and thanked the Left leaders for their support to his party to form the government. It was his first visit to the Communist parties' offices. Left parties have asserted that they will support the TVK form government but also continue their "journey" with the DMK.
AMMK Attempts To Give Another Twist
AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran submitted a letter to the Governor to express his party's support for the AIADMK, urging him to invite the AIADMK to form a government in the state.
"It is a case of horse trading or forgery. It is a mockery of democracy. How can he support the Opposition MLA? How can he (Vijay) say I am clean? How can he give good governance, clean governance? He is getting support from the opposition...We are all in an NDA alliance, and contested along with AIADMK. Our CM candidate is Palaniswami," Dhinakaran said.
"I am supporting AIADMK. I have submitted this letter in support of Edappadi Palaniswami to form the government. Our MLA Kamaraj has also signed it and sent it through my secretary. When I saw TVK, I was shocked. because there was some other letter - maybe a forged letter, or it may be horse-trading. I called up my MLA, but I was not able to reach him. He signed this letter around 6.30 pm and sent it here. When I saw on TV that our party had supported Vijay, I was shocked. I have an appointment with the Governor and have submitted a letter to him requesting an investigation. I feel it is forged or horse trading. He should not allow this," he added.
(With PTI inputs)puts)