CHENNAI: It has been barely ten days since the government led by actor Vijay assumed power in Tamil Nadu, and the Chief Minister and his administration are already facing a major crisis. The deadlock centers around the move to include MLAs who defected from the AIADMK into the government. The issue flared up after the CPI(M), a key ally in the ruling coalition, announced that it would reconsider its support to the government if Vijay’s party allies with the AIADMK faction.
The CPI(M) made its stance clear to the media, stating that making the AIADMK faction a part of the TVK government would be a betrayal of the people’s mandate. The party added that the presence of AIADMK in the coalition would go against TVK’s core promise of providing ‘clean governance’. This development has pushed the TVK and Chief Minister Vijay into a major political corner.
The CPI(M) further explained that they chose to support the TVK only because Tamil Nadu is not ready for another immediate election and they wanted to prevent the state from falling into the hands of the BJP through Governor’s rule. Although Vijay scripted history by shattering decades-long Dravidian political dominance in Tamil Nadu, his party fell short of an absolute majority. Sweeping 108 out of 234 seats, TVK was ten seats short of the magic number. Following intense political developments, the party managed to reach the majority mark with the backing of allies like the Congress, VCK, CPI(M), CPI, and the Muslim League.
However, during the crucial trust vote, 24 rebel AIADMK MLAs also extended their support to Vijay. The CPI(M) has now strongly opposed the move to integrate these rebel lawmakers into the government. Earlier, the Congress had also issued a similar warning to Vijay. Senior Congress leader Karti Chidambaram demanded that the MLAs who defected from the AIADMK to support TVK during the confidence motion should not be inducted into the cabinet. He pointed out that such a decision would severely tarnish Vijay’s political image.
Karti Chidambaram noted that the backing of the Congress and other existing allies is more than enough to ensure the stability of the Vijay-led government. He emphasized that the support of the AIADMK is not required to complete the five-year tenure, advising Vijay not to make decisions that would deceive the citizens who voted for political change.
(With inputs from MN)
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