New Delhi: With support from the Congress, VCK, CPI and CPI(M), actor-politician Vijay appears set to cross the majority mark in the fractured Tamil Nadu Assembly, strengthening his claim to form the next government after days of political uncertainty and a standoff with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
Vijay had sought an appointment with the Governor at 4.30 pm today, but the meeting was later scheduled for 6 pm, as per TVK sources. Vijay is expected to stake claim again after securing the backing of key opposition parties.
The numbers now appear to be in Vijay’s favour. TVK has 107 MLAs in the 234-member Assembly, while the Congress has extended support with its five MLAs. The CPI and CPI(M), which have two MLAs each, have also backed TVK after internal meetings. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which has two MLAs, has agreed to support Vijay as well. Together, the alliance touches 118 — the majority mark of 118 needed to form the government.
The sudden consolidation around Vijay comes barely a day after the Governor again declined to invite the TVK chief to form the government, saying the party had failed to demonstrate majority support. The rejection triggered a political storm, with opposition parties accusing the BJP-led Centre of attempting to engineer “Governor’s Rule through the back door”.
Behind the scenes on Friday, frantic negotiations unfolded across Chennai as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge personally spoke to VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan to secure support for the TVK-led formation.
Soon after, the CPI Working Committee and CPI(M)’s state leadership also extended support to Vijay, dramatically changing the arithmetic in the Assembly and potentially ending the uncertainty over who forms the next government.
The support, however, did not come without sharp warnings and public messaging directed at Vijay and his inner circle.
In a strongly worded statement, VCK leader Sinthanai Selvan accused the BJP of attempting to use the Governor’s office to destabilise Tamil Nadu politics and warned that democratic norms were under threat.
At the same time, he openly criticised Vijay’s handling of the post-poll situation, questioning why the TVK chief had not personally reached out to alliance partners immediately after the results.
“How are we to understand sending a WhatsApp letter asking for support and then saying ‘respond’?” Selvan asked, while also accusing some “second-rung leaders” around Vijay of isolating him and pushing him towards political confrontation.
The VCK leader also took aim at what he described as the revival of “resort politics” in Tamil Nadu, referring to reports that TVK legislators had been moved to a secure location amid fears of poaching and instability.
Despite the criticism, the larger concern among Congress, Left parties and VCK appeared to be preventing what they described as a possible constitutional overreach by the Governor.
Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge also entered the debate on Friday, backing a floor test for Vijay and questioning the Governor’s stance.
“It is the responsibility of the Governor to follow due constitutional process. If the largest party claims to have the numbers, they should be allowed to prove it on the floor of the House — not in the Governor’s residence, but in the legislature itself,” Kharge said.
He also cited earlier precedents in Maharashtra and Karnataka where governments were sworn in before proving majority on the Assembly floor.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN TAMIL NADU
The controversy began after the fractured verdict on May 4 produced no outright majority. TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats, while the DMK-led alliance fell short of retaining power.
On Thursday, Vijay met the Governor for the second time in 24 hours, but Lok Bhavan later issued a statement saying the “requisite majority support” needed to form the government had not been established.
That decision triggered protests by TVK cadres outside the Raj Bhavan, while Congress announced statewide demonstrations against both the Governor and the BJP-led Centre.
The Congress and Left parties argued that constitutional convention required the single largest party to be invited first and given time to prove majority on the floor of the House.
CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby had earlier cited the 1996 precedent when former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was invited to form the government despite lacking a majority at the outset.
Meanwhile, the BJP maintained that the Governor was acting strictly within constitutional norms.
BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathy said the Governor would “go by the Constitution and the rule book”, adding that a stable government could be formed if supporting parties formally backed Vijay.
Even as support lines hardened, DMK sources indicated outgoing Chief Minister MK Stalin had urged alliance partners to remain within the Secular Progressive Alliance, signalling that the battle for political loyalties may not yet be fully over, as per a report by news agency PTI.
But with the magic number now seemingly within reach of TVK, all eyes are on whether the Governor will finally invite Vijay to take the next step toward becoming Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister.
