TVK Chief Vijay To Meet Governor For 3rd Time As Suspense Over Govt Formation Continues

Tamil Nadu Government Formation: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay is expected to meet Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for the third time on Friday, as the suspense over government formation in Tamil Nadu continued.

In an unprecedented moment in Tamil Nadu politics, the TVK became the single largest party by bagging 108 seats in the recent assembly elections, trumping both the DMK and the AIADMK, who have long held power in the state. However, Vijay’s party is still short of the majority number of 118, even after Congress broke a decades-long alliance with the DMK to extend the support of five MLAs.

TVK’s attempts to form the government have hit an unexpected roadblock after Arlekar declined Vijay’s request to form the government twice,

citing the party’s failure to establish majority support in the Assembly. In response, TVK argued that there have been several precedents where the single largest party was invited to form the government despite lacking a clear majority at the time.

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Vijay needs the support of 117 members to prove a majority in the Assembly, after he vacates one of the two seats he won in the recent Tamil Nadu election. He is likely to provide the Governor with a list of 118 members to prove his party’s majority.

CPI(M), CPI Likely To Extend Support

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) and CPI are likely to extend support to the Vijay-led TVK amid the ongoing uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu, sources told CNN-News18 on Friday. The party is also reaching out to other small parties for support, including AMMK.

TVK’s dominant performance has fuelled rumours of what could be an unthinkable first in Tamil Nadu, an alliance between Dravidian rivals DMK and the AIADMK to prevent him from coming to power. The AIADMK hinted that a decision would be made if the governor again disallows TVK to form the government.

In response, TVK warned that all its 107 MLAs would resign if the DMK and the AIADMK formed a coalition government. However, this extraordinary threat is fraught with legal challenges, and it is unclear whether the government would immediately collapse.

READ MORE: TVK Warns 107 MLAs Will Resign If DMK-AIADMK Govt Is Formed In Tamil Nadu: What Happens If They Do?

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu BJP said it did not wish to associate itself with any attempt to form a new government in Tamil Nadu and ruled out any direct role in the exercise. “Further, we wish to inform the public that we will not vote in support of any party involved in attempts to form the government,” it said in a statement.

The Assembly election resulted in a hung verdict, with TVK winning 107 seats in the 234 member House. The DMK secured 59 seats, AIADMK 47, PMK 4, IUML 2, CPI 2 and CPI(M) 2, while BJP, DMDK and AMMK won one seat each.