There is still suspense in Tamil Nadu over the formation of government by actor Vijay’s party, ‘Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam’ (TVK). Meanwhile, there are also reports of a possible alliance between DMK and AIADMK. In response, TVK has said that if both Dravidian parties stake claim to form the government, all party MLAs will resign. Four days have passed since the results of Tamil Nadu Assembly elections were declared, but it has not yet been decided who will form the government.
Being the largest party in terms of seats, actor Vijay’s party ‘Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam’ (TVK) submitted a letter to Tamil Nadu acting Governor Rajendra Arlekar and staked claim to form the government. However, Governor Arlekar refused to invite Vijay as he did not have the support of 118 MLAs required to form the government.
TVK now suspects that both the parties are conspiring together to keep out of power the party which has received the maximum mandate from the public. According to sources, the decision has been taken after two meetings held between the DMK and AIADMK camps in the last two days. Meanwhile, on Friday morning, TVK supporters protested outside the Governor Bhawan (Lok Bhawan) and raised slogans. The police have taken many supporters into custody.
On Thursday, Governor Rajendra Arlekar rejected TVK chief Vijay’s claim to form the government for the second time. He instructed Vijay to return only with the signatures of 118 MLAs to prove his majority. However, the Governor assured Vijay that he would not invite any other party to form the government.
In the same context, a press release issued by the Raj Bhavan said: “TVK leader Vijay met the Governor. During the meeting, the Governor clarified that the required majority support to form the government in the Tamil Nadu Assembly has not yet been received.”
After meeting the Governor on 6 May and submitting the letter of government formation – but not receiving an invitation to form the government – Vijay met the Governor once again on 7 May. On this occasion, he staked claim to form the government by submitting letters of support from five MLAs of the Indian National Congress. This press release was issued following this sequence of events. Following this sequence of events, doubts have arisen over whether TVK will be able to form a government. Apart from this, questions are also being raised that if TVK is not given a chance, then how will the next government be formed.
In such a situation, the total strength of the House will remain 233, and the support of 117 MLAs will be enough to form a majority. However, if the Assembly Speaker is from TVK, the party will need the support of 11 additional members to gain majority. With the support of five Congress MLAs considered assured, TVK still needs the support of six more MLAs.
Against this backdrop, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and CPI – both having two seats each – have expressed their willingness to support the TVK. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which won two seats, has also indicated that it may extend ‘constructive and significant’ support to the incoming government. As a result, the total number of TVK coalition could reach 119 – exceeding the majority mark.
If they once again stake claim to form the government with letters of support, the Governor may be forced to invite them to form the government. If the number of members falls short by one during the election of the pro tem speaker, an MLA from an outside party may be appointed to the role. If this also proves impossible, legal experts suggest that the Chief Justice of the High Court can be appointed as the pro tem speaker and returning officer so that the trust vote can be conducted.
Speaking to BBC, political analyst Rajan Kurai Krishnan said, “Vijay is staking claim to form the government as the leader of the party that has won the most seats. He just has to prove his majority in the Assembly within the stipulated time limit. If the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) decides to abstain from voting during the trust vote, the TVK will have no problem in gaining majority in the House.” “But, for the Governor to say that he will be called only if he gets a clear majority is an abuse of power. Sadly, Vijay himself should have spoken openly on the issue – which he has not been able to do so far. Vijay has not yet met journalists. At the very least, he should now meet the media and publicly clarify his stand on the Governor’s stance on government formation,” he said.