CHENNAI: The mood in the TVK camp turned from jubilation to anxiety on Wednesday night as C Joseph Vijay’s party found a five-seat gap in forming a government in the 234-member Assembly even as Congress threw its support behind it. TVK sources said the governor insisted on receiving letters of support from a sufficient number of provincial legislators before deciding on a swearing-in date. A ceremony scheduled for Thursday was put on hold. Congress leaders visited Vijay at the TVK headquarters in Banayur in the morning and attached letters of support from five MLAs. Vijay drove to Lok Bhavan and conveyed his intention to form the government to Governor RV Arlekar. When there was no reply from Lok Bhavan till late night, TVK’s Aadhav Arjuna met Arlekar again. Meanwhile, the AIADMK moved its MLA to a resort in Puducherry.
.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that DMK and AIADMK are in talks over the situation. The Congress came under severe criticism from the DMK for “betraying the electorate and abandoning its long-standing alliance”. The bottom line is that TVK has been negotiating with parties from two rival alliances but is still struggling to find the numbers it needs. While IUML (2 MLAs) has said it will not support TVK, other DMK allies VCK, CPI, CPM (2 MLAs each) and DMDK (1) are yet to commit. The AIADMK, which had previously established communication channels with TVK, also ruled out supporting it. “The AIADMK will not provide support to TVK under any circumstances,” party deputy general secretary KP Munusamy told reporters after general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami chaired a meeting of 47 new MLAs.
