Actor-politician C Joseph Vijay finally found his way to the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu as he made his maiden speech there as chief minister on Tuesday. It is now widely known how much effort and political maneuvering it took for ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay to get there, as he worked to secure support from smaller parties and demonstrate his majority.
Finally, after three failed visits to the governor in an attempt to stake claim to form government in the state as he fell short of the majority mark even after Congress' backing, the debutant managed to get support from smaller parties and took oath as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Sunday, May 10.
However, his challenges are not yet over as the newly elected chief minister is yet to face a floor test in the assembly on Wednesday, May 13, to prove his majority through a vote of confidence.
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Here' what lies next for Vijay-
A floor test pending in Tamil Nadu assembly
The results of Tamil Nadu state polls held in April led to a hung assembly for the first time since 1967, with no major alliance or party hitting the majority mark of 118. However, Vijay's TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108, out of which Vijay won two, and fell short of 11 seats effectively to claim majority. Even after Congress' support of five MLAs, it needed six more votes by its side to claim to form government.
{{/usCountry}}The results of Tamil Nadu state polls held in April led to a hung assembly for the first time since 1967, with no major alliance or party hitting the majority mark of 118. However, Vijay's TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108, out of which Vijay won two, and fell short of 11 seats effectively to claim majority. Even after Congress' support of five MLAs, it needed six more votes by its side to claim to form government.
{{/usCountry}}Also read: AIADMK split on the cards? Vijay win exposes rebellion against EPS
That support finally came after the smaller parties which were holding their cards close became kingmakers and extended support to Vijay, helping him not just touch but exceed the majority mark with 120 seats — CPI (2), CPI(M) (2), VCK (2) and IUML (2).
However, Vijay is yet to prove his majority on the floor of the assembly on Wednesday, May 13.
A TVK MLA barred from voting
If this year's Tamil Nadu polls and the following power tussle have reminded the country of something, it has to be the democratic principle of ‘every vote counts’. Just as the numbers began to favour Vijay, Madras high court restrained TVK MLA Seenivasa Sethupathy from participating the trust vote tomorrow in Tamil Nadu assembly until further order.
Also read: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay orders closure of over 700 govt-run TASMAC liquor stores near schools, bus stops
Why? Because again — every vote counts.
The TVK MLA won Tirupattur assembly seat with just one vote against DMK's former Minister KR Periakaruppan, who claimed to have lost by a single vote because of two constituencies with the same name 'Tirupattur'. The court said that the argument was fit for the interim order.
This setback, however, may not impact TVK's vote count in assembly tomorrow as he would still have 118 votes to his name — after Sethupathy's vote and appointment of TVK MLA JCD Prabhakar as the Speaker of Tamil Nadu assembly.
AIADMK faction extends support
The days when Vijay was scrambling for support from smaller parties seem to have become thing of the past as a faction of AIADMK has extended support to Vijay claiming that majority MLAs of the party are on their side.
Also read: AIADMK faction supports Vijay's TVK after rift with EPS: 'We accept people’s mandate'
The rift between AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami and other leaders including CV Shanmugam and SP Velumani came out in the open with both the factions now battling it out publicly on whether to support Vijay or not.
On Tuesday, Shanmugam congratulated the new chief minister and extending support to the government. “The people’s mandate is not for TVK. The mandate is for Vijay to become the chief minister,” he said.
Shanmugam also claimed that their faction of the party has majority MLAs' support and that the EPS' faction was seeking an alliance with the DMK, which he said would have been against the party's founding principles.
If AIADMK faction decided to support Vijay on Wednesday in Tamil Nadu, he will comfortably win the trust vote and continue to govern the state.