CHENNAI: President of the victorious Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), Vijay, sought an invitation from Governor Rajendra Arlekar to form the next government in Tamil Nadu with an assurance to prove his majority in the Assembly in two weeks’ time since he ran short of 10 MLAs to cross the half-way mark of 118 seats in the 234-member House triggering speculations on who might fill in the gap on a day of busy political activity on Tuesday.
Out-going Chief Minister M K Stalin, who wrote to Arlekar informing of his and his Cabinet’s resignation from their posts, thanked the 1,54,82,782 persons who had voted for the candidates of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), visited his Kolathur constituency, where he lost his election, and told the people that he had nothing to fear about when he had the support of the people.
At the office of the TVK in Panaiyur, Vijay was elected leader of the party in the Assembly by the newly elected MLAs, based on which he wrote to the Governor seeking invitation to form the government, triggering speculations on the MLAs from outside who might support him in the process.
While the Congress that had won five seats as an ally of the DMK emerged as a likely group that might throw its weight behind the TVK, leader of the TNCC K Selvaperunthagai did not commit himself on becoming a part of the government but said that Congress Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi would take a call on that.
With rumours floating around about the Congress leaders opening channels of communication with TVK, the MLAs of the party were not seen at the meeting of the SPA MLAs. However, the five MLAs will not add up to the required numbers to form the government and many other parties like the PMK, CPI, CPM and VCK were reportedly interested in filling the gap.
The PMK, which contested the polls as part of the AIADMK-led alliance, was said to be keen on extending support to Vijay provided he included their MLA Sowmiya Anbumani in his cabinet. While some said that the PMK wanted a Deputy Chief Minister’s post, others clarified that it was keen on just the Health portfolio.
The Left parties and the VCK, each having two seats, gave the impression that they were in a group and might consider any invitation from Vijay, the fact that they contested the elections as part of SPA notwithstanding. So nothing was clear on Tuesday as to who all would join the government led by the TVK.
Vijay, on his part, established links with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telling him ‘Transcending politics, we shall focus on the State’s progress and the welfare of people of Tamil Nadu. We look forward to the Union Government’s support in this endeavor.’
He was thanking Modi for his congratulations on its impressive performance and assurance to further the progress of the State and the well-being of the people. Vijay also thanked Rahul Gandhi, saying ‘beyond politics, we shall prioritize for the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu.’
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
