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TN govt formation: 'Governor should invite Vijay, ask him to prove majority on floor of House'

TN govt formation: 'Governor should invite Vijay, ask him to prove majority on floor of House'

The Federal 1 day ago

Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar's refusal to immediately invite TVK chief Vijay to form the government despite his party emerging as the single largest formation has triggered a sharp political and constitutional debate in the state.

The Federal spoke to Tamil Nadu Congress leader Anand Srinivasan and The Federal's Editor-in-Chief S Srinivasan on the evolving government formation crisis in Tamil Nadu, where TVK has fallen just short of the majority mark but continues to stake a claim to power.

Governor's objection

The panel discussed how the Governor sought additional proof from TVK after Vijay met him seeking an invitation to form the government. According to the discussion, the Governor was not convinced by TVK's initial claim and reportedly asked Vijay to demonstrate how he would secure a majority on the floor of the Assembly.

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S Srinivasan explained that the constitutional sequence in a hung Assembly is usually clear. "If there is any pre-poll alliance, the Governor first calls that alliance. In this case, neither alliance secured a majority. The next possibility is to invite the single largest party," he said.

He pointed out that TVK, with 107 seats after Vijay vacated one constituency, had also submitted Congress support letters, taking its tally to 112. However, the Governor allegedly insisted that if TVK was presenting itself as a post-poll coalition, it must produce support letters from additional parties as well.

"The confusion seems to be whether Vijay approached as the single largest party or as the head of a post-poll coalition," S Srinivasan said.

Constitutional debate

The discussion repeatedly returned to whether the Governor should have simply invited Vijay to form the government and prove his majority through a floor test.

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S Srinivasan argued that constitutional precedents and Supreme Court judgments clearly favour allowing the single largest party to attempt government formation. "The Governor should have invited him and asked him to prove majority on the floor of the House," he said.

He cited earlier political precedents from Karnataka, Goa and Bihar, arguing that courts have consistently emphasised floor tests over discretionary delays.

Anand Srinivasan alleged that the Governor changed his interpretation midway through the process. According to him, TVK's first submission was based solely on being the single largest party. "The Governor then asked them to show supporters. When Congress gave a support letter, he converted it into a coalition issue," he said.

Anand Srinivasan described the situation as a "heads I win, tails you lose" scenario for TVK.

Allegations of pressure from Delhi

The panel also examined reports that AIADMK leaders were meeting the Governor amid speculation about possible alternative political combinations.

Anand Srinivasan claimed the AIADMK was internally divided, alleging that a section of MLAs wanted the party to support or merge with Vijay's TVK. He argued that the party was struggling without a charismatic leader after the deaths of M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.

"The AIADMK is imploding slowly," he claimed, alleging that a faction of MLAs was camped in Puducherry amid internal tensions.

He further alleged that pressure was being exerted from New Delhi and sections aligned with the BJP and RSS because of the emerging TVK-Congress understanding.

S Srinivasan, however, took a more cautious position. He said there was no indication that AIADMK had the numbers required to make a serious claim to form the government. He suggested that some of the discussions may simply be political signalling aimed at exerting pressure during negotiations.

BJP concerns

A major part of the discussion centred around whether the BJP was uneasy with the growing proximity between Vijay and Congress.

Anand Srinivasan claimed the BJP was uncomfortable with the prospect of Congress gaining political space in Tamil Nadu through an alliance with Vijay. "If Vijay gives in writing there will be no Congress alliance, tomorrow they will form the government," he alleged.

S Srinivasan said the Congress announcement that its understanding with TVK would continue till the 2029 Lok Sabha elections may have political implications beyond Tamil Nadu.

"This certainly will worry BJP to some extent," he said, adding that if a Vijay-led government performs reasonably well, the alliance could become electorally stronger in future elections.

He also noted that Vijay's electoral success had surprised much of the political establishment because the actor-turned-politician had not run an extensive conventional campaign.

"The campaign happened inside homes," he said, referring to Vijay's popularity among younger voters and families.

Stability questions

The panel also debated whether a TVK-led government would remain stable even if it managed to secure support from smaller parties and independents.

S Srinivasan argued that TVK was only six seats short of a majority and therefore not in the same category as historically unstable coalition governments at the Centre.

"They are pretty close to majority," he said, adding that stability concerns should not prevent the Governor from inviting the party to form the government.

Anand Srinivasan went further, claiming that attempts to block Vijay could backfire politically and generate a larger sympathy wave in his favour across Tamil Nadu.

"Anything these people are going to do is only going to make him more popular," he said.

DMK's role

The discussion concluded with speculation over whether the DMK might indirectly facilitate a TVK government by abstaining during a floor test.

Anand Srinivasan suggested that some MLAs from Opposition parties could walk out during voting, thereby reducing the effective majority mark required for Vijay to win a confidence motion.

S Srinivasan reiterated that the "best course of action" remained a floor test. "The Governor's most logical step should be that," he said.

With oath-taking ceremonies already scheduled in other states and uncertainty continuing in Tamil Nadu, the panel agreed that the political drama surrounding the state's government formation was far from over.

(The content above has been transcribed from video using a fine-tuned AI model. To ensure accuracy, quality, and editorial integrity, we employ a Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) process. While AI assists in creating the initial draft, our experienced editorial team carefully reviews, edits, and refines the content before publication. At The Federal, we combine the efficiency of AI with the expertise of human editors to deliver reliable and insightful journalism.)

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