Tamil Nadu's ruling TVK on Wednesday dismissed any talk the Communist Party of India (Marxist) - one of four parties propping up Chief Minister Joseph Vijay's government - will withdraw its support if the AIADMK, or any of its factions, is added to the coalition mix.
TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna made that point as he reiterated the party's invitation to the CPM and three parties - including the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, which provided last-gasp drama in the week following election results before confirming its support - to join the government.
But Arjuna wouldn't be drawn on details of the reported cabinet expansion, telling reporters Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam boss Vijay would make an announcement shortly.
The Congress - the biggest of the TVK's allies with five seats - is expected to share power, Arjuna, who is the Public Works Department and Sports Minister, confirmed.
But the CPM, the VCK, and the Communist Party of India and Indian Union Muslim League - which add eight seats between them, two each - have only provided outside support this far.
"Chief Minister has reiterated it (the invitation to the CPM, CPI, VCK, and IUML). That is his wish and dream too," Aadhav said, naming VCK boss Thol Thirumavalavan in his invitation.
Stressing the TVK would always stand for social justice, Arjuna claimed some sections of the DMK and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami had attempted to forge a coalition to defy the verdict of the April 23 election. The reference was to reports of an AIADMK-led power grab - with outside support from the DMK - after the state returned a fractured verdict.
The TVK swept 108 of the state's 234 seats - 10 short of outright majority - setting up a scramble for power that included the highly unlikely coalition between the DMK and AIADMK, Dravidian political behemoths that had dominated Tamil Nadu politics for the past 62 years.
Eventually the TVK won through with support from the Congress, VCK, CPM, CPI, and IUML, to help Vijay complete a sensational cinema-to-politics arc and become the first actor-politician to become chief minister of Tamil Nadu since the AIADMK's J Jayalalitha over a decade ago.
Aadhav claimed the TVK's allies came together to "save democracy".
Targeting the AIADMK, he alleged party boss Palaniswami's decisions - which included re-aligning with the BJP despite disastrous results in previous polls - were responsible for its defeat. "AIADMK cadre realised any tie-up with DMK is wrong… so they supported TVK."
Referring to the 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs who defied EPS to vote for the TVK in last week's trust vote, Aadhav said the faction, led by CV Shanmugam, had acted in this political context.
"Shanmugam leads the faction… it is not for power," he said, adding the rebel AIADMK leader would announce his next steps in due time. "MLAs have the right to choose whom they support."
The support arithmetic remains delicate for Vijay's government.
The TVK has 107 MLAs after Vijay quit the Trichy (East) seat - one of two he won - and has 120 including the Congress' five and eight from the VCK, CPI, CPM, and IUML.
The majority mark is 118.
The wafer-thin margin - two seats – could be significantly boosted if the rebel AIADMK leaders, numbering around 25, join the coalition. From a pure numbers standpoint, even if that prompts both Left parties and even the VCK to drop out, the TVK will still come out 19 seats ahead.
It is against this backdrop that cabinet expansion speculation - and Arjuna's clarification distancing TVK from the AIADMK - has acquired major political significance in Tamil Nadu.
