- Vijay's party won 108 seats but lacks majority in Tamil Nadu assembly elections
- DMK and AIADMK, traditional rivals, are in talks to possibly prevent Vijay's government
- Proposals include VCK leader Thirumavalavan as a potential chief minister candidate
There appears to be a new twist in the hunt for allies in the fractured mandate in Tamil Nadu. With coalition being the only way of governance, superstar Vijay's failure to secure majority despite scoring an electoral blockbuster may pave the way for an unexpected chief ministerial face. And if sources are to be believed, that may be Thol Thirumavalavan, the chief of VCK.
Sounds odd? After all, the VCK secured just two out of the total 234 seats. That's less than 1% of the total assembly strength. Then welcome to coalition politics - where the impossible may become possible in a fraction of second. Live Updates
What We Know So Far
The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) is at the centre of the uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu. The TVK, which emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats, currently has a total of 116 MLA-elects in its favour and needs the backing of two more to secure majority.
The VCK has two MLAs - if they agree to support Vijay, the TVK can go ahead with forming the government. The TVK is expected to make its stand clear at 4 pm today.
Read: And Then There Were 2: How VCK Has Kept Vijay, Tamil Nadu On Edge For 3 Days
Sources suggest the delay is due to the absence of one of the two VCK MLAs. It is learn that the MLA is on the way to Chennai and that VCK insists on having the signature of both its MLAs before announcing its final decision.
Vijay had also reached out to the AMMK and IUML for support, but the two parties had refused.
Can Thiruma Be Chief Minister?
Well, anything is possible in coalition politics. Any leader can become chief minister if he is a member of the said assembly and can muster a simple majority in his favour.
While Vijay was busy negotiating a coalition with smaller parties like the CPI, CPM, VCK and others, the Dravidian giants DMK and AIADMK weren't sitting idle.
Finding themselves swept away by a Vijay tsunami, the parties that held a duopoly in Tamil Nadu politics for over six decades that begun talks among themselves. Quiet interestingly so since the two parties had been arch-rivals; a partnership was hard to imagine thus far.
Sources in the AIADMK say that their talks with the DMK still continue, in a bid to stop Vijay from forming the government.
It also appears that Vijay was not the only one trying to bring VCK on its side. The Dravidians giants too had been exploring an alliance with the VCK, said sources.
This being a watershed moment for Tamil Nadu, the stakes are also high. To secure VCK chief Thirumavalavan's support, sources said, there had been talks to project him as the chief minister.
However, it's now clear how such an alliance will work out since they would still fall short of majority. Together, the DMK and AIADMK have 106 seats (DMK 59 and AIADMK 47). Adding the two MLAs of VCK, the count would go up to 116.
The TVK too has those many MLAs on its side, including 107 of its own legislators, five of Congress, and four from the Left parties.
The halfway is 118.
