Vijay Makes Superhit Debut. But Can TVK Stitch Numbers To Form Government?

With 107 seats in hand, actor-turned-politician Vijay and his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), find themselves just 11 short of the majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly. The big question now is arithmetic - where will those crucial numbers come from, and will the state see a hung assembly? As the single largest party, TVK is likely to be invited by the governor to form the government, even if it begins as a minority administration. Party insiders remain confident of securing outside support. They point to possible backing from parties currently aligned with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) - including the Congress, which won five seats, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM), and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which have got two seats each.