Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: TVK has finally achieved the numbers needed to form the government in Tamil Nadu after days of intense political uncertainty, strategic negotiations and shifting alliance equations in the aftermath of the hung assembly verdict. The breakthrough came after Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) formally extended support to Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), helping the party attain the crucial majority mark of 118 in the 234-member assembly.Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK, which emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats, had initially fallen short of the majority mark. Though Vijay’s party won 108 seats, the TVK chief would have to leave one seat as he contested from two constituencies, bringing down the tally to 107.With Congress, VCK, CPI and CPM backing TVK, the alliance finally crossed the majority mark with 118 MLAs.
The final tally stands at:
- TVK: 107
- Congress: 5
- VCK: 2
- CPI: 2
- CPM: 2
How TVK achieved the numbers
Congress, which was quick to break away from DMK, was the first to extend support to TVK with its five MLAs, taking the alliance tally to 112. However, the coalition still remained short of the 118 seats required to form the government, triggering a political stalemate and putting the spotlight firmly on smaller regional and Left parties. As uncertainty gripped the state’s political landscape, parties that had long remained within the DMK-led alliance began reconsidering their positions in light of TVK’s emergence as the dominant force in the assembly.Finally, CPM general secretary MA Baby, while addressing mediapersons in Delhi, said the CPI, CPM and VCK, which together have six MLAs in the state assembly, have been taking measures to enable TVK to demonstrate majority support and stake claim to form the government. Earlier, CPM state leader P Shanmugam had confirmed receiving a formal letter from Vijay seeking support. He had argued that constitutional convention favoured inviting the single largest party to form the government in a hung assembly.TVK’s successful push to the majority mark marks a historic political moment in Tamil Nadu, effectively ending the decades-old DMK-AIADMK dominance and signalling the arrival of a new political force at the centre of the state’s politics.
