Tamil Nadu political crisis deepens as Vijay’s TVK party threatens mass resignation of all 107 MLAs if DMK or AIADMK forms government ignoring largest party.
Intensifying the political instability in Tamil Nadu, reports indicate that all legislators of the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) party, led by veteran actor Vijay, are preparing to resign. According to party sources, TVK has warned that if an attempt is made to form a government by DMK or AIADMK, disregarding the party that won the highest number of seats in the election, all 107 of its MLAs are likely to resign en masse.
No party secured a majority in the election held on April 23, with Vijay’s TVK party emerging as the single largest party by winning 108 seats. Since Vijay won from two constituencies, the party’s strength will be 107 after he vacates one seat. With the support of the Congress party, their total seat count stands at 112. However, they still fall short of the required 118 seats needed to form a government.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that DMK, which won 59 seats, and AIADMK, which won 47 seats, are holding secret talks to form a government together. TVK believes that these two traditional rival parties are planning to unite to prevent Vijay from coming to power. Under the current situation, the 6 seats held by left parties and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have become decisive.
Although TVK General Secretary C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar attempted to secure the support of those parties, IUML leader Kader Mohideen stated that since they have been with the DMK alliance for three decades, a decision cannot be made without consulting M.K. Stalin. TVK has also emphasized that it will not seek support from the BJP led NDA alliance under any circumstances.
Vijay met with Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on both of the past two days and staked his claim to form a government. However, the Governor reportedly stated that he cannot invite him to form a government until he proves the required majority in the Assembly. A senior TVK party member stated that despite a split mandate, the largest party cannot be ignored. If TVK fails to secure a majority within the next few days, the mass resignation of their MLAs will steer Tamil Nadu politics in a new direction.
