Hours after extending support to Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the CPI and CPI(M), on Friday, May 8, said their decision was aimed at preventing President’s Rule in Tamil Nadu and ensuring that the people’s mandate was respected.
The announcement came after meetings of the state committees of both parties. The Congress had extended support to the TVK earlier. The Left parties said their decision was aimed at preventing President’s Rule in Tamil Nadu and ensuring that the mandate of the people was respected.
The Left parties clarified that while they would support the TVK government from outside, they would not be part of the cabinet.
“We won’t participate in the amaicharavai (cabinet),” CPI general secretary D Raja said.
The CPI also stressed that its political relationship with the DMK and the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) would continue on ideological issues despite the support extended to TVK.
“Against communal forces, against the Union BJP government snatching state rights, our relationship with the DMK will continue,” Raja said.
He also dismissed suggestions that the CPI or CPI(M) required the approval of the DMK to take the decision.
“Why should we need DMK approval? We are independent parties. CPI and CPI(M) have taken our political stand,” he said.
CPI general secretary D Raja and the party’s TN state secretary Veerapandian said TVK had approached the Left parties seeking support after Governor Rajendra Arlekar asked Vijay to return with proof of majority support before staking claim to form the government.
“People have given a chance to TVK. They sought our support. We debated in the party committee and decided to extend support,” Veerapandian said.
D Raja said, “It is important for a party elected by the people to form the government and that too before May 10, otherwise President’s Rule will come. It is a critical situation.” He added that Vijay personally wrote to them seeking support from the CPI and that TVK representatives also met them with the request.
Raja accused Governor Rajendra Arlekar of trying to prevent TVK from forming the government.
“The Governor should have let TVK form the government and prove its majority through a floor test. But he wanted proof of support beforehand, which is unconstitutional,” Raja said.
“President’s Rule is equal to the BJP coming through the backdoor,” he added.
The CPI also alleged that the BJP was attempting to gain political control in Tamil Nadu despite suffering a major electoral setback.
“BJP has been completely defeated, winning only one seat. So we allege that the BJP has plans to rule the state through President’s Rule,” Raja said.
CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby had said that the TVK, as the single largest party, should have been invited to form the government and given time to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly.
Calling the Governor’s actions “highly intriguing” and “disturbing”, Baby had said the Left parties would act to avoid a “manufactured stalemate”.
The support from the Left significantly improves Vijay’s prospects in the Assembly.
The TVK had won 108 seats in the election. However, Vijay is expected to vacate one of the two constituencies he contested — Perambur or Tiruchy East — bringing the party’s tally down to 107. With one MLA expected to become Speaker, the party’s effective voting strength would be 106.
In the 232-member effective Assembly, the halfway mark during a floor test would stand at 117.
With support from Congress and the Left parties, TVK’s numbers rose sharply. Additional backing from parties such as the VCK and IUML could further strengthen Vijay’s claim to form the government.
The announcement comes amid growing tensions between the DMK and Congress after the latter broke ranks to support TVK. The DMK had subsequently explored the possibility of post-poll coordination with the AIADMK.
On May 7, Governor Rajendra Arlekar had said the TVK had failed to demonstrate majority support and asked Vijay to return with the numbers required to form the government.
The Governor’s decision triggered protests in Chennai by TVK and Congress cadres, who accused Raj Bhavan of disregarding the people’s mandate.
The TVK won in 108 constituencies in the election. However, Vijay will have to vacate one of the two seats he won from — Perambur or Trichy (East). This will take the number down to 107. Since TVK is the party with the absolute majority, one member would become the Speaker, whose vote shall only be utilised in case of a tie-breaker. So effectively, TVK will have 106 seats in the House.
During a floor test, votes are counted only based on the MLAs present in the House. In this case, the full strength of the Assembly would be 232. TVK will need 117 to pass a floor test.
He has obtained Congress’ share of five seats and four from the two communist parties, taking the seat count to 115 while discounting the Speaker seat.
