Actor-turned-politician Vijay is set to become the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), secured the support required for government formation in the state
assembly.
The development came after several parties, including the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), extended support to the TVK-led alliance.
According to an NDTV report, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson A Sarvanan said outgoing Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin played a key role in ensuring political stability by persuading allies to support TVK.
“Congratulations to the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Vijay. He has been able to become the Chief Minister with the help of DMK allies. Our leader MK Stalin does not want a constitutional crisis, and he persuaded allies (to join hands with the TVK) after extensive consultations,” Sarvanan said.
Sarvanan also targeted the Congress party, accusing it of abandoning the DMK-led alliance despite benefiting electorally from the party’s organisational strength.
“The party won its five seats only because of the hard work put in by the Stalin-led party’s cadres on the ground,” he said while criticising Congress for switching support to TVK.
STALIN CALLS CONGRESS MOVE A “BETRAYAL”
Soon after TVK secured the backing of enough MLAs for government formation, Stalin issued a detailed statement on X reacting to the post-poll developments.
Stalin thanked Left parties and VCK for continuing to align with DMK’s ideological positions even while supporting the TVK-led government.
“The Congress MLAs who contested and won on behalf of the alliance did not come to Anna Arivalayam to express their thanks. On the same day, the Congress party severed ties with the DMK and proceeded,” Stalin said in his post.
He contrasted Congress’s move with the stand taken by Left leaders and VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan, who, according to him, continued to support the DMK’s policy framework while backing TVK for governance stability.
Stalin further said that the election results had produced a fractured mandate where no party independently crossed the majority mark.
“The assembly election results had turned out in a manner where no party secured the majority needed to form a government,” he wrote.
DMK SAYS IT WILL PLAY ROLE OF “CONSTRUCTIVE OPPOSITION”
In his statement, Stalin reiterated that the DMK would not attempt to obstruct the formation of a government despite failing to secure a majority.
“Even though the secular progressive alliance, led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, did not obtain the majority seats required to form a government, we have garnered a significant number of votes,” he said.
He added that the party had already decided against triggering instability or pushing the state towards another election.
“Whatever decision our allied parties take, I believe that we should respect their decision, act in coordination, ensure a stable government is formed, and not pave the way for another election,” Stalin said.
The DMK chief also highlighted his government’s performance over the past five years and urged the incoming dispensation to continue welfare schemes introduced during his tenure.
He said programmes focused on women, youth, students, children, marginalised communities and government employees should continue in the interest of Tamil Nadu’s development.
TVK CROSSES MAJORITY MARK WITH ALLIES’ SUPPORT
The TVK emerged as the single largest party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections with 108 seats, falling short of the 118-seat majority mark in the 234-member House.
However, support from Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML pushed the coalition’s tally to 121 MLAs.
According to ANI, VCK formally handed over a letter of support to TVK General Secretary Aadhav Arjuna, paving the way for government formation. The support was described as unconditional by the party leadership.
TVK chief Vijay is now expected to meet Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar with letters of support from alliance partners to stake a claim to form the government.
An additional political development could slightly alter the assembly arithmetic.
Vijay, who won from two constituencies, is expected to resign from one seat.
Following the resignation, TVK’s strength would reduce to 107, while the effective strength of the Assembly would come down to 233.
Even then, the TVK-led alliance would retain the support of 118 MLAs, enough to maintain a majority in the House.
