TVK MLAs meet as party struggles to form government

With the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), founded by actor-turned-politician Vijay, falling short of a simple majority, complicating government formation, the party on Thursday convened a meeting with its MLA-designates to discuss the course of action.

The party, which won 108 seats in the assembly elections, falls short of the 10 seats needed for a majority. Although the Congress, which won 5 seats, offered to back the party, it needs to find the backing of 5 more MLAs to meet the mark in the 234-member assembly.

Earlier in the day, Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and staked a claim to form the state government.

However, Lok Bhavan sources indicated that a formal decision on inviting Vijay to form the government and holding the swearing-in ceremony has not yet been made, indicating that Governor Arlekar was not fully satisfied with Vijay's claim of support.

Meanwhile, hundreds of TVK supporters, fuelled by the hope of seeing their leader Vijay as chief minister, gathered at Nehru Indoor Stadium in the city on Thursday, only to be met with locked gates and a lack of information regarding the scheduled proceedings.

Many supporters, travelling from various parts of the state, near and far, like Arumbakkam and Coimbatore, expressed deep disappointment and confusion upon finding the premises closed and without official communication.

The DMK has also convened a meeting of its newly elected MLAs-designate at Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters, on Thursday evening, under its president, M K Stalin.

The meeting comes in the wake of a changed political atmosphere, with its once-trusted ally, the Congress, settling for a post-poll alliance with the fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and its other allies, the VCK and the left parties, deciding to meet to discuss whether or not to extend support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation.

The Dravidian major, which has managed to win only 59 seats in the April 23 election, is likely to elect the party youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin as the legislature party leader and also focus on its role as the opposition party in the assembly, a source in the party said.