Congress Or AIADMK: Who Will Vijay’s TVK Pick As Kingmaker Partner In Tamil Nadu Government Formation?

After the actor-turned-politician Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu, Congress extended its support to the party. TVK fell short of the majority mark to form the government despite winning 108 seats.  There has been no official announcement yet regarding a formal alliance between TVK and Congress. However, Congress leader KC Venugopal on Tuesday indicated that Vijay had reached out.

“The INC is determined not to have the BJP and its proxies run the Govt. of Tamil Nadu in any manner,” Venugopal said, hinting at the Congress’s willingness to support TVK in the state.

How Many Seats Does Vijay’s TVK Need To Form Government In Tamil Nadu?

TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly and is just 10 seats short of the halfway mark of 118 needed for a simple majority.

However, the actual requirement for forming a stable majority is 12. Even though TVK’s tally is 108, two of its seats, Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur, were won by Vijay himself.

As per Election Commission rules, Vijay will have to vacate one of these seats, reducing the party’s strength to 107. Also, the election of an Assembly Speaker from within the party would further reduce its effective voting strength, as the Speaker does not vote during a confidence motion. This would bring TVK’s functional strength down to 106.

Given this arithmetic, TVK is expected to explore alliances with smaller parties, including Congress and the Left Front.

DMK Attacks Congress Over Alliance Speculation

Reports of the Congress-TVK alliance triggered tension within the Secular Progressive Alliance, with the DMK sharply criticising the INC.

DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai launched a strong attack on the Congress, calling its stance “short-sighted” and accusing it of betrayal.

“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 told HT.

Will AIADMK Support TVK Without BJP?

As Congress signalled support for TVK, another key development emerged with BJP’s NDA ally AIADMK also coming into the picture. TVK has already rejected any possibility of aligning with the BJP, which Vijay has referred to 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, amid speculation of talks between party General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and TVK chief Vijay.

Reports suggest that a section within the AIADMK is inclined to support Vijay and his party. 

Reports of Rift in AIADMK 

Amid speculation of internal divisions, party spokesperson Kovai Sathyan acknowledged that there was “momentum” between AIADMK and TVK, but dismissed reports of any split or rift within the party.

He reiterated that any final decision regarding an alliance with TVK would be taken by the party’s high command.

“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

Also Read: Vijay’s TVK Falls Short Of Majority To Form Government In Tamil Nadu? All Probabilities, Coalition Options Decoded