Tamil Nadu polls: Vijay claims to form government after Congress extends support; TVK falls five seats short of 118 majority

New Delhi: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chairman Vijay on Wednesday met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to stake his claim to form the next government after his two-year-old party emerged as the single largest party in the recent assembly elections. TVK won 108 of the 234 parliamentary seats in the first election. The two major Dravidian parties – Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) – won 59 and 47 seats respectively. Just five years after the AIADMK’s defeat, the DMK was voted out of power. Earlier, Alekha confirmed that he would meet Vijay, with the actor-turned-politician claiming he has the numbers needed to form a government. “I have received a letter from TVK. They will meet me in the evening. They said they have majority and should be called to form the government. Yes, I have appointed TVK chairman Vijay. The new government will now be formed,” the governor told ANI. TVK sought support from Congress to form a government after falling short of a 118-seat majority. Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Congress president K Selvaperunthagai and state in-charge Girish Chodankar met Vijay at the TVK headquarters in Chennai to confirm the support.

Despite Cong’s support, TVK is still 5 seats short of majority: How will Vijay close the seat gap?

However, the alliance is still five seats short of a majority as Congress secured only five seats. To bridge the gap, TVK has also approached AIADMK general secretary and former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. The Congress is in alliance with the DMK for the April 9 assembly elections, while the AIADMK is the largest component of the NDA, which also includes the Bharatiya Janata Party. Reacting to the development, DMK leader Saravanan Annadurai criticized the Congress, calling the move “short-sighted” and accusing it of betraying its Indian bloc partners. “I think this is a very short-sighted, short-sighted stance taken by the Congress and they will regret it. The 2029 elections are coming and we are confident of defeating the BJP. But this decision makes the Congress an unstable partner. The perception across the country is that the Congress cannot be trusted,” Sarvanand said.Among the smaller parties that could help Vijay reach or cross a majority, DMK ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) is yet to decide, while Left parties and the Indian Muslim League (IUML) have ruled out support despite being approached by TVK.“It will be decided by our party president Thol Thirumavalavan,” PTI quoted a senior VCK official as saying. The party won two seats in the assembly elections held on Monday.Meanwhile, CPI(M) candidates R Chellaswamy and Latha, who won the assembly elections, met DMK president MK Stalin at DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam. They were accompanied by CPI leaders T Ramachandran and Marimuthu.Similarly, IUML MLAs-elect Syed Farooq Basha SSB and AM Shahjahan also met Stalin, who resigned as chief minister after losing the state and his own seat.Subsequently, CPI(M), CPI and IUML announced that they would continue to support DMK.