AIADMK faction support, one less MLA: What's on cards for 'Thalapathy' Vijay as he faces floor test on May 13
PTC News Desk: Actor-turned politician C Joseph Vijay was sworn in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on May 10, eventually eventually paving his way to the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
His maiden speech in the assembly seemingly reflected the political maneuvering and efforts it took for him to secure support from various parties to demonstrate majority and reach the dais.
While the elections were fought along conventional alliance lines, the fractured mandate forced the parties to scramble new political equations.
The fourth meeting with the governor after three failed attempts worked its charm for Vijay Thalapathy and he staked claim to form government. However the road doesn't appears to be any less bumpy as Vijay has to pass the floor test in the Assembly on Wednesday, May 13.
The results of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections held in April produced a hung Assembly for the first time since 1967, with no party or alliance reaching the majority mark of 118 seats.
However, Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats. Vijay himself won from two constituencies, but the party still remained effectively 11 seats short of a majority. Even after receiving support from Congress’ five MLAs, TVK still needed six more legislators to stake claim to form the government.
That support eventually came from smaller parties, which had initially kept their options open but later emerged as kingmakers. CPI (2), CPI(M) (2), VCK (2), and IUML (2) extended support to Vijay, helping him cross the majority mark with the backing of 120 MLAs.
However, Vijay still has to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly on Wednesday, May 13.
The political situation has shifted rapidly, as a faction of the AIADMK has now also extended support to Vijay, claiming that most of the party’s MLAs are backing him. The internal rift within the AIADMK has become public, with party chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami on one side and leaders such as CV Shanmugam and SP Velumani on the other, openly disagreeing over whether the party should support Vijay.
If the AIADMK faction votes in favour of Vijay during Wednesday’s trust vote, he is expected to comfortably win the confidence motion and continue leading the Tamil Nadu government.
- With inputs from agencies
