TVK Chief Vijay Meets Governor, Stakes Claim To Form Next Govt In Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu's TVK, led by Vijay, claims a majority with Congress support and seeks government formation, while Governor Raj Bhavan evaluates invitations amid ongoing talks with AIADMK.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam Chief Vijay on Wednesday visited the Raj Bhavan after his party came out with flying colours in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, winning 108 seats.

He sought an invitation from Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to form the government on the strength of fresh support letters from allies. Vijay was accompanied by leaders including Nirmal Kumar and Bussy Anand.

The Governor told ANI that a formal communication from TVK staking claim to power had reached Raj Bhavan and confirmed that a meeting with Vijay was fixed for later on Wednesday, signalling that the process of government formation in Tamil Nadu was moving ahead quickly.

TVK government claim and Tamil Nadu alliance numbers

Explaining the next steps, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said, "I have received a letter from TVK. They will meet me in the evening. They have stated that they have the majority and they should be called for the formation of the government. Yes, I have an appointment (to TVK chief Vijay). A new govt will come now," indicating readiness to assess the claim.

The current strength of the emerging alliance around Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and Vijay is based on the party’s 108 seats and the Congress tally of five, taking the bloc to 113 in the 234-member House, still five short of the 118 seats required for a simple majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Earlier on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai and state incharge Girish Chodankar visited Vijay at the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam headquarters in Chennai, where they formally conveyed Congress backing for TVK in forming the next Tamil Nadu government, marking a significant shift in the state’s post-poll political alignments.

Addressing reporters after the discussions with Vijay, K Selvaperunthagai said, "We have given our letter of support (to TVK). This is the party high command decision. I don't know when the oath ceremony is. He (TVK chief Vijay) will meet the Governor," stressing that the initiative came with the central leadership’s approval.

TVK, Vijay and AIADMK talks in Tamil Nadu politics

Despite the Congress commitment, the combined strength of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and its new ally remains below the majority mark, so TVK has also opened channels with AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, whose party holds 47 seats and could, if supportive, take Vijay’s camp well beyond the halfway mark in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Congress leader Praveen Chakravarthy, speaking after another round of talks with TVK chief Vijay, said, "We met Mr Vijay, and gave him the letter of support. He spoke to Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on the phone, thanked them and invited them for the swearing-in tomorrow. We are supporting the mandate given to Mr Vijay by the people of Tamil Nadu."

The Congress decision to stand with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and Vijay has also meant a formal exit from its earlier alliance with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, as the party publicly announced full support for TVK forming the next Tamil Nadu government, while Vijay’s organisation, contesting its first Assembly polls, outperformed both DMK and AIADMK in seat share.

The realignment has drawn criticism from DMK, with party leader Saravanan Annadurai calling the Congress move "myopic" and saying, "I think this is a very short-sighted, myopic stand taken by the Congress, which they will regret. The 2029 big elections are coming, where we are very confident that we will be able to remove the BJP. But now, because of this decision by the Congress, it has made them a very unstable partner. The perception that is out in the entire country is that Congress cannot be trusted," reflecting tensions within the wider INDIA bloc as Raj Bhavan prepares to evaluate TVK’s claim to govern.

With inputs from ANI