Tamil Nadu chief minister Vijay proved his majority in the state legislative assembly on Wednesday, May 13, three days after taking oath. This was Vijay's third big victory in the state after his party — Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) — emerged as the single largest party in assembly polls and then scrambled to garner support of several smaller allies to finally stake claim to form government in the state.
With 144 votes, much bigger a number than actually needed to prove majority, actor-politician Vijay has now solidified his position as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
While he was struggling to convince smaller parties just last week to help him touch the majority mark to form government, the actor-turned-politician has now come a long way in just days as he won a comfortable victory during the floor test in Tamil Nadu legislative assembly.
Also read: Vijay finally proves majority, passes floor test with backing from 144 MLAs
However, the trust vote did not lack any drama, much like Vijay's own movies, as the assembly saw chaos, infighting, and also a walkout.
Here's what happened during Vijay's trust vote
AIADMK vs AIADMK
While support of smaller parties — CPI, CPI(M), VCK, IUML, AMMK — was expected and would have been enough for Vijay to prove majority of the floor of the House, what became a gamechanger for him was the unexpected support he from a rebel AIADMK faction, which backed him during the floor test.
{{/usCountry}}While support of smaller parties — CPI, CPI(M), VCK, IUML, AMMK — was expected and would have been enough for Vijay to prove majority of the floor of the House, what became a gamechanger for him was the unexpected support he from a rebel AIADMK faction, which backed him during the floor test.
{{/usCountry}}A group of AIADMK MLAs, headed by senior leaders C V Shanmugam and SP Velumani, declared on Tuesday that they would support Vijay as it respected people's mandate. The faction also accused the other group of MLAs, rallying behind general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, of wanting to side with DMK to form government.
Tamil Nadu assembly expectedly erupted into chaos when both the AIADMK confronted each other during the trust vote. While EPS declared that all 47 of party MLAs will oppose Vijay's government, the rebel faction went ahead with the support for Vijay anyway.
The rebel bloc claimed on Tuesday that they have support of 30 MLAs who will be backing Vijay, however, he only got 25 votes from the party after party's split-voting.
DMK walkout
During the trust vote, leader of opposition and DMK MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin criticised AIADMK's fraction support for Vijay, saying that the party MLAs which fought under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were now supporting Vijay.
He also criticised Vijay for leaving his Trichy (East) seat without visiting the place to thank the people for supporting him.
Saying that 65% of the state did not vote for TVK, Stalin said that his party MLAs will walk of the assembly.
“We are walking out of the Assembly. Once we walk out, you will get the majority. I request you not to politicise the welfare schemes introduced by our government,” he said.
Row over astronomer's appointment
Another criticism that Vijay faced during his trust vote was for over appointing his astronomer Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel as officer on special duty (OSD) for the chief minister.
Also read: Astrologer Rickey Radhan Pandit Vettrivel removed as OSD by Tamil Nadu govt amid row
DMK allies Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi (MJK) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) spoke against Vetrivel's appointment and said that Vijay could have appointed him as his personal secretary rather than giving him an official government post.
“Do not include astrology formulas in the government, mainly if they believe personally its upto them, no issue, but it should not come in government. We are not supporting TVK in the floor test,” said MJK President Thamimun Ansari.
However, Vijay seemed to have taken the criticism and put it in action as Vetrivel's appointment was revoked right after he won the trust vote.
A promise by Vijay
After much struggles to finally becoming a majority-backed chief minister in Tamil Nadu, Vijay promised that his government will remain secular.
He expressed gratitude to all the MLAs who gave him support and said that his government will not engage in horse trading but will run the state with the speed of the horse.
During his address after winning the trust vote, Vijay characterised his administration as a "government of the common people" which assures "social justice, equal opportunity, and secularism."
"There will be no discrimination between those who voted and those who didn't. This is a government for everyone. This is a government for the common people. This is a government that transcends caste and religious boundaries. This is a government that doesn't show discrimination. This is a government that protects culture. This is a sophisticated government. It's a government that won't hurt anyone or anything for political reasons. They will understand all this in time. Therefore, rather than jumping up to reply, it's a government that acts with courage and succeeds in everything," Vijay said.