- TTV Dhinakaran accused the TVK of "horse-trading"
- Dhinakaran described the letter of support to TVK as "forgery"
- He said he and his party's MLA have signed the letter of support to the AIADMK
It was widely reported on Friday that TTV Dhinakaran's lone MLA in AMMK was firmly backing actor-politician Vijay, who is hard-pressed to muster the written support of at least 118 MLAs to fulfil Governor RV Arlekar's precondition for forming the government. However, hours after the TVK chief met the Governor and reportedly submitted letters of support from 116 MLAs, Dhinakaran announced support to the AIADMK, which has not even attempted to form a government of its own.
Asked about his perceived U-turn, Dhinakaran described his party's alleged letter of support to TVK as either "forgery" or "horse-trading".
In an interview with NDTV, Dhinakaran, the nephew of late Jayalalithaa's aide Sasikala, accused Vijay's TVK of trying to poach his MLA. He also demanded action against the party for alleged horse-trading, a term used to describe the trade of political loyalties in return for inducements.
"How can they do horse trading? Whom have the people voted and elected? Mr Kamaraj (Mannargudi AMMK MLA S Kamaraj), against TVK and DMK. It is a clear-cut case of horse trading... Or it may be a forgery. The Governor should investigate," he said.
Also read: Governor Not Convinced Vijay Has Majority, No Oath Tomorrow: Sources
He said he and Kamaraj have signed the letter of support to the AIADMK and submitted it to the Governor.
"My secretary went and got it (his letter) signed around 6.30 pm. When I was coming back from Puducherry, I saw on TV that he (Vijay) had given a letter in support of TVK. I was shocked. So, I called the Honourable Governor's office, got an appointment and gave the letter," he said.
The AMMK chief said he wants AIADMK chief and former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu again. "Hopefully, we will ask for the support of other parties, and we will form the government," he added.
Also read: Dumped For Vijay, DMK Doesn't Want To Sit With Congress In Lok Sabha Anymore
Vijay, whose TVK won 108 seats, met the Governor on Friday. Sources, however, said he had the written support of only 116 MLAs, two short of the majority mark.
The sources said Vijay hasn't been invited to take the oath as the chief minister on Saturday.
Apart from TTV Dhinakaran, the IUML also released a letter saying it was not part of the TVK-led alliance.
Amid uncertainty, the Congress, which has lent its support to the TVK, has sequestered its five Tamil Nadu MLAs in Hyderabad.
