On Friday evening, there was a turn in the politics of Tamil Nadu, which suddenly surrounded the entire equation of power with mystery and suspense. The picture which was almost clear throughout the day for actor Vijay’s party, TVK, started becoming blurry as the night approached. The TVK camp was in celebratory mood since morning. Party leaders and supporters were confident that they had crossed the majority mark with the support of Congress, CPI, CPI(M) – and probably VCK and IUML. Firecrackers were being burst outside Vijay’s house in Panayur, and party workers were openly discussing the swearing-in ceremony to be held on Saturday morning. However, as the evening wore on, the political calculations began to go awry.
The real problem arose with VCK chief Thirumavalavan. He had publicly stated that his party would stand by the decisions of the left parties; Still, till late Friday night he had not submitted a formal letter of support to Governor Rajendra Arlekar. As a result – technically speaking – Vijay’s party fell short of the majority mark. According to sources in the Governor’s office, during the meeting held on Friday evening, Vijay had the support of only 116 MLAs. In other words, he fell short of the magic figure required for a majority. This delay created a storm of rumors in political circles.
Tamil Nadu politics looks like a ‘political thriller’
Such reports started coming from the political circles of Tamil Nadu that Thirumavalavan TVK, AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami is holding separate meetings with (EPS) and DMK leaders. Interestingly, despite repeatedly reiterating to the media that he stood with the Left parties, he did not give any final decision till late night. Instead, he went directly to acting Chief Minister M.K. Reached Stalin’s residence, where discussions continued even after 10:00 pm. After this turn of events, Tamil Nadu politics started looking like a political thriller.
Is Thirumavalavan following in the footsteps of Madhu Koda?
Speculations are rife in some circles associated with the VCK that EPS and Stalin are working together to find a formula in which Thirumavalavan himself can emerge as the unanimous candidate for the post of Chief Minister. Meanwhile, another small but important incident has further complicated the entire political equation. NDA ally and AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran arrived to meet the governor shortly after 9 pm. He alleged that Vijay’s party, TVK, was trying to poach his MLA to its side. Dinakaran claimed that his party’s lone MLA, Kamaraj, had gone “missing”. “My MLA is not picking up his phone,” Dhinakaran said. “He must have been detained, or his phone must have been confiscated. Kamaraj is missing. I have requested the Governor to immediately initiate an investigation.”
Dhinakaran told the Governor: This letter is fake
Now a war of words has broken out in Tamil Nadu between actor Vijay’s party – Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) – and TTV Dhinakaran. The crux of the controversy is a letter written by AMMK’s newly elected MLA, Kamaraj S.; In this letter he had promised to support Vijay’s party. However, AMMK chief Dhinakaran has insisted that the letter is fake and his party has not extended any support to TVK. On Friday, he met Governor Rajendra Arlekar and told him his point of view; He assured the Governor that his MLA, Kamaraj, is fully aligned with the NDA and AIADMK alliance. Dhinakaran also clarified that his party’s support for the post of Chief Minister is with Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
TVK denies Dhinakaran’s allegations; released a video
In sharp contrast, Vijay’s party – TVK – has vehemently denied Dhinakaran’s allegations. Issuing a video statement, the party claimed that Kamaraj had prepared the letter of support on his own free will and completely willingly, and had done so only after obtaining Dhinakaran’s approval. TVK further alleged that false information was being spread by deliberately hiding the truth. In a statement, TVK stressed that the party has no need to ‘bargain’ with anyone. The party claims that the people have given them an overwhelming mandate, and the process of gathering support to form the government is progressing in a completely democratic manner.