CHENNAI: In a day of animated suspense, Governor Rajendra Arlekar stated that TVK president Vijay has not established that he had the requisite numbers to stake claim to form the next government, while bitter rivals, DMK and AIADMK, intensified their move to align with each other to thwart the emergence of the third force, the outcome of which is dependent on the decision taken by VCK, CPM, and CPI that have two MLA-elects each.
On Thursday morning, Vijay made another trip to the Lok Bhavan to meet the Governor for a second time in two days, this time on Arlekar’s invitation, while DMK president MK Stalin met the leaders of alliance partners at his Cenotaph Road residence around the same time.
Sources said Stalin apprised them about the plan mooted by his party leaders to join forces with the AIADMK and sought the support of their elected members to stake claim. One of the key aspects that he wanted them to factor in was that the 16th Assembly was dissolved on May 5 and any further delay constituting the next Assembly and government could lead to Tamil Nadu coming under President’s rule. If such a scenario emerges, the Centre-ruling BJP may extend the President’s rule till 2029 and hold country-wide elections under its One Nation, One Election plan.
Later in the day, Vijay’s emissaries met the leaders of CPI, CPM, and IUML, seeking their support to form the government. The Left parties said they would take the final decision in their internal meeting on Friday, while IUML later said it would follow whatever decision that the DMK takes.
Around this time, the Governor issued a formal statement stating why he was not inviting TVK to form the government despite it being the single largest party. “During the meeting, the Governor that the requisite majority support in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly essential for forming the government has not been established.”
Sources told DT Next that the TVK made the mistake of including the names of the five-member Congress contingent in its letter to the Governor, and the latter insisted that since it is a coalition government that the party was mooting, a simple majority was required.
Within an hour after the Governor issued the statement, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami left for Puducherry, where the party’s winning candidates have been accommodated since Wednesday. There, sources close to Palaniswami claimed, he informed them that he had taken an “important decision” and assured them that a good news that would benefit the AIADMK would reach them in a couple of days.
After convincing them, Palaniswami collected individual letters of support from the 47 MLA-elects, sources added. This seems to have gotten the support of the party members, as sources said many of them raised slogans hailing him as next Chief Minister.
At the same time, the DMK convened a meeting of its MLA-elects at Anna Arivalayam, where they adopted resolutions condemning the Congress for its decision to snap ties and extend support to TVK, and also empowered Stalin to take any decision in the party’s best interest.
While the resolutions did not spell out the move to align with the AIADMK, it left no doubts, as there was no mention of playing the role of a constructive opposition; rather, the stress was on ensuring that a stable and non-communal government came to power in Tamil Nadu. DMK sources told DT Next that Stalin said he had to take some decisions in the interest of the party in consultation with the senior leaders, and directed them to abide by any decision that he took. He also told them to remain in Chennai till Sunday, sources.
Now that the chemistry between partners is no longer important, the question moves to simple arithmetic: Does this combine have the requisite numbers? Sources said the PMK (4), IUML (2), and DMDK and AMMK (1 each) are not against such an arrangement. However, it is not a simple decision for the two Left parties and VCK, which together hold 6 seats. Without their support, this coalition – if one can indeed call it one – cannot reach the half-way mark.
Even as doubts persisted if the Governor would invite this combine to form the next government, Arlekar told a news channel that if someone brings the required number, he would only verify if the figures are correct.