Game, set, and match, C Joseph Vijay. On Friday evening – after four days of chaos – chants of ‘TVK, TVK’ broke out around the actor’s Chennai home. This after the actor-politician finally secured the handful of seats needed to confirm he will become the next Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. He will now meet Governor RV Arlekar this evening, likely at 6 pm, to stake claim.
And will likely be sworn in at 11 am tomorrow, i.e., Saturday.
Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam swept last month’s election; the party won 108 of 234 seats on its debut to break Dravidian giants DMK and AIADMK‘s 62-year chokehold on state politics. But the joy of that win dissipated quickly after Governor RV Arlekar made it clear he would not invite the TVK leader to form the government without majority support confirmation.
Two meetings in two days – Wednesday and Thursday – but Arlekar didn’t budge. He told Vijay yesterday that he could not run a government of 113 MLAs when the House majority is 118. And he insisted on letters of support from as many MLA-elects.
RECAP | Governor Asks Vijay To Prove Majority, TVK May Move Court: Sources
Vijay, however, had only 108 from the TVK. He needed at least 10 more seats.
Vijay’s winning formula
The Congress broke from allies Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to contribute five, on condition Vijay and TVK do not ally with ‘communal parties’ – a reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party that is partnered with the AIADMK. The DMK-Congress split – after three election wins in seven years – generated a bitter subplot to this drama, with each accusing the other of betrayal.
READ | Dumped For Vijay, DMK Wants Congress Lok Sabha Split
The TVK then also opened talks with the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Communist Party of India. By Friday afternoon, after two rounds of meetings, sources said all three had agreed to support Vijay, a decision formalised through letters of support that TVK Deputy General Secretary CT Nirmal Kumar confirmed.
All three were also DMK allies and had been in talks with MK Stalin’s party over alternative routes to power, including remaining by his side and entering what many derided an ‘unholy alliance’, i.e., tying up with his arch-rivals, the AIADMK.
RECAP | AIADMK-DMK Buzz Amid Vijay Suspense: What Next For Tamil Nadu?
They have exactly the number he needs – two each for a total of six.
As a bonus, Vijay also has the support of one of two MLA-elects from the Indian Union Muslim League (though this has not been confirmed) and the lone MLA-elect from TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.
He now has 121 seats.
The cost?
Sources told NDTV that the VCK, CPM, and CPI will get one cabinet post each in the incoming government.
READ | VCK To Get 1 Ministry In Vijay’s Cabinet, Left To Get 2: Sources
The Congress expects two berths for its support.
DMK-AIADMK’s ‘unholy’ alliance
The chaos included speculation of a deal between the DMK and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, two parties that share an ideology – the social justice movement started by EV ‘Periyar’ Ramasamy – but are otherwise fierce enemies.
Political observers suggested the two big Dravidian parties were driven by similar fears.
For the DMK this brought back memories of 1977-87 when MGR kept it from winning any election till after he died. And for the AIADMK, it’s more recent; sections within pointed to the past decade in which the party lost three consecutive polls to Stalin.
However, the ‘unholy’ alliance never materialised. In fact it never moved past speculation, with senior leaders on both sides confiding to NDTV that it could never survive in the face of vehement opposition from ideologues in both camps.
READ | AIADMK Claims ‘All Is Well’ After Resort Buzz Over ‘Pro-TVK’ MLAs
There was also brief speculation a deal between the TVK and the AIADMK – which has 47 seats.
And what about the BJP?
The BJP has denied any role in the stand-off between the TVK and Arlekar.
“It is a fractured verdict… TVK doesn’t have a majority. If he (Vijay) proves a majority, then the governor will constitutionally accept it. There is no confusion…” the BJP’s state unit spokesperson, Narayan Thirupathy, told news agency PTI.
Thirupathy rejected claims the BJP had directed the governor to stymie Vijay.
READ | Vijay Pressured Since He Opposed BJP? ‘Political Rhetoric’ Reply
“This is a democratic country. Elections happen here in a democratic way. Mr Vijay of the TVK has more seats. Everything will happen democratically. How can somebody pressure (someone)? These are all political rehtorics. I don’t think that is right.”
