This was Vijay’s third meeting with the Governor in as many days over government formation.
According to The Times of India, Vijay will take oath as the Chief Minister on May 9 (Saturday) at an event in Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. However, the TVK is yet to issue an official confirmation on the matter.
Interestingly, it is the same time at which BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari will be sworn in as the new Bengal Chief Minister.
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CPI, CPI(M) and VCK have two MLAs each. Their backing, along with the Congress’ five seats, takes the TVK alliance tally to the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, paving the way for Vijay to form the government.
At a joint press conference following executive committee meetings, CPI State Secretary R. Mutharasan Veerapandian said the party had decided to support TVK while respecting the “people’s mandate”.“TVK approached CPI, CPI(M) and VCK. We had our party meeting. It’s normal in a democracy to have ups and downs. Tamil Nadu people have supported and decided to elect TVK. We have taken a decision in a democratic way,” he said.
Tamil Nadu CPI(M) Secretary K. Balakrishnan Shanmugam said the decision was taken to avoid a delay in government formation, prevent the possibility of President’s Rule and stop the BJP from entering the state “through the back door”.
“In the Assembly election, no party has an absolute majority. It’s a must to form a government, and a pressure situation has arisen to form a government within the 10th. Joseph Vijay has written a letter to both parties. Since if the government is not formed within the 10th, President’s Rule will come. And the BJP is trying to enter Tamil Nadu through the back door. So, to end this, CPI and CPI(M) have decided to support TVK,” he said.
He added that both Left parties would extend outside support and would not join the cabinet.
Also Read: As TVK inches its way towards power, supporters gather outside party headquarters, celebrate
“We will not be in the cabinet. Just to make sure no election again, we took this decision,” he said.
The parties also said that Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which is currently holding an executive meeting, is expected to back TVK as well.
In an official letter, CPI(M) extended its support to TVK for forming the government, while CPI offered “conditional support” in favour of “stable, secular and democratic governance for the people of Tamil Nadu”.
Meanwhile, supporters gathered outside TVK headquarters in Chennai, bursting crackers and distributing sweets after the announcement by the Left parties.
