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‘Won't succumb to Delhi’: Vijay declined ‘CM post, 50% seats’ offer from ‘a party’, claims TVK leader
Arjuna did not name the party. However, his remark that Vijay did not “succumb to Delhi” suggests that the offer did not come from a regional party.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and popular actor Vijay was offered the chief minister’s post along with 50 per cent of assembly seats by a party for the upcoming Tamil Nadu elections, party general secretary Aadhav Arjuna said on Tuesday.
While Arjuna did not name the party or alliance, he remarked that Vijay did not “succumb to Delhi”.
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Vijay was offered CM post: Aadhav Arjuna
“TVK was offered a 50:50 seat-sharing deal and the chief minister’s post for two-and-a-half years. Vijay, however, turned down the proposal,” Arjuna claimed without naming the party that approached them for an alliance or made the offer.
The TVK is set to make its electoral debut in the April 23 assembly elections.
"Vijay is not a person who will succumb to Delhi for the sake of the chief minister's post. They gave us all kinds of offers - from 50 to 90 seats. All that Vijay said was that he wanted the trust of Tamil Nadu people not the CM's post," Arjuna, addressing a TVK meeting in Kolathur on Tuesday night, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
He said the TVK would emerge as a strong force, adding that the party plans to contest all 234 constituencies and aims to form a secular social justice government.
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TVK-BJP alliance rumours were dismissed as ‘baseless’ earlier
Earlier, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said his party was not in talks with the TVK for any alliance. BJP state chief Nainar Nagenthran also backed Palaniswami’s statement.
Notably, there had been speculation that leaders linked to the BJP were trying to reach out to the TVK for a possible alliance to challenge the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). However, Vijay’s party dismissed these claims as “baseless”, as mentioned in an earlier HT report.
CTR Nirmal Kumar, TVK deputy general secretary, had said: “We would like to make it categorical that no talks of any kind have taken place with any specific parties or political leaders at any level.”
He also alleged that such “baseless news” was spread by members of the DMK to create confusion among the public and party workers, PTI reported.
Tamil Nadu elections
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 23. Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
In the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, the DMK won 133 seats. The AIADMK secured 66 seats, while the Congress won 18 seats. The voter turnout was 76.6 per cent.
With inputs from agencies
