After Congress bid its support to actor-turned-politician Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form the government in Tamil Nadu, an unlikely player has entered the picture: BJP’s NDA ally AIADMK.
TVK, which stands at 108 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly and is just 10 short of the 118 halfway majority mark, is more likely to ally with smaller parties like the Congress and the Left Front. It has already rejected the notion of allying with the BJP, whom Vijay terms as an “ideological enemy”.
“The party has to take the decision”, AIADMK leader CV Shanmugam said while speaking to reporters as AIADMK MLAs arrived at his residence in Chennai, amidst buzz of ‘talks’ between party General Secretary Edapaddi K Palaniswami and TVK chief Vijay.
Reports suggest that a faction within the AIADMK is inclined to support Vijay and his party. Some reports have also indicated that the MLAs who want to ally with TVK are not too happy with Edappaddi Palaniswami’s leadership.
Party spokesperson Kovai Sathyan confirmed “momentum” within AIADMK and TVK, while dismissing rumours of “rift” or “split” within the party. Sathyan stated that the party high command will decide on an alliance with the TVK.
“Some momentum between the two camps, between the AIADMK and the TVK. High command will take a decision, so there is some momentum which has started since yesterday night. So let’s wait for the time; as of now, it’s too early to talk about numbers. There is some momentum, so let’s wait for the outcome. The high command will take the final decision. Absolutely, there is no difference of opinion; the high command’s decision is final and the high command will take a decision very soon. There is no question of that. Absolutely, there is no internal rift or split in AIADMK. High command will make a decision very soon,” he said.
Stressing on who will make efforts to form an alliance, Sathyan stressed, “The ball is in Mr Vijay’s court. The majority decision will be taken by the high command. If he has to turn the dream into reality, it has to come from Mr Vijay’s side.”
Congress, with its five MLAs, has already extended support to TVK for a “secular government” in Tamil Nadu. So now, Vijay has the support of 113 MLAs and is just five shy of the majority mark. The TVK chief also sought time from Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar to meet him as part of the process for government formation.
Friction in the Congress-DMK alliance
Tensions rose within the Secular Progressive Alliance as DMK called Congress a “backstabber,” amid speculation that the grand old party was backing TVK in Tamil Nadu.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, calling the decision “myopic” and accusing them of having “backstabbed” INDIA alliance partners.
“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 were 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,” he said.
A debutant party not only breaking the DMK-AIADMK duopoly but potentially leading government formation marks a profound shift in voter sentiment. How will the formation of the Tamil Nadu government impact national politics? Many things remain to be seen.
