With VCK and IUML finally extending unconditional support on Saturday, TVK chief Vijay crossed the majority mark in the Tamil Nadu assembly and headed to Lok Bhavan to meet Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for the fourth time in four days.
Arlekar has reportedly cancelled his flight to Kerala, sources told NDTV. This time Vijay is armed with letters from 120 MLAs backing his claim to form the government.
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The visit came after days of political uncertainty in which the Governor had repeatedly withheld an invitation to Vijay despite TVK emerging as the single largest party in the 234-member house.
With VCK and IUML both extending support, the TVK combine's tally hit 120 — TVK's 107 effective seats (after Vijay vacates one of his two winning constituencies), Congress 5, CPI 2, CPI(M) 2, VCK 2, and IUML 2.
The road to this point was anything but smooth. Vijay first met the Governor on Wednesday to stake his claim, but Arlekar asked him to produce letters of support from 118 MLAs, which he believed Vijay did not have.
Subsequently, the convoy and security protection provided to Vijay as Chief Minister-designate were withdrawn. A furious TVK and its allies accused the Governor of stalling a democratic mandate. Several parties urged the Governor to invite Vijay to form the government and prove his majority through a floor test in the Assembly.
The numbers trickled in over the next three days. Congress broke from the DMK-led SPA to support TVK, taking the tally to 112. CPI and CPI(M) added four more on Friday, pushing it to 116. Saturday's formal letters from VCK and IUML to the Governor put that ambiguity to rest and taking the TVK led coalition to 120, beyond the majority mark.
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The Assembly elections, held on April 23, marked a major shift in Tamil Nadu politics, ending the decades-long dominance of the DMK-AIADMK rivalry. For the first time in the state's electoral history, no party secured an outright majority on its own.
Vijay, who contested from two constituencies and won both, is expected to vacate the Trichy seat and continue as MLA from Chennai Perambur. Once he does, the effective assembly strength reduces to 233, bringing the majority mark down to 117 — giving his coalition a comfortable buffer of three.
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