TVK's Vijay Seeks Support to Form Tamil Nadu Government Amid Governor's Majority Demand

Tamil Nadu woke on May 6 to a political earthquake. Actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam had won 108 seats in the state assembly elections—more than any other party—but fell ten short of the 117 needed to govern alone. By afternoon, the Congress had done something no one expected: it broke a three-decade alliance with the DMK and threw its five MLAs behind Vijay instead. The move was meant to be a coronation. By evening, Vijay was at the Governor's residence staking his claim. By the next morning, everything had stalled.

Governor Rajendra Arlekar refused to invite Vijay to take the oath. Instead, he demanded documentary proof—letters, signed commitments, ironclad evidence—that Vijay actually had the numbers. This was not a procedural nicety. The Governor was asking Vijay to prove his majority before being sworn in, a demand that broke with convention and derailed the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for May 7. TVK supporters who had gathered at Nehru Stadium went home disappointed. Vijay declined the police convoy that comes with the chief minister's office, a gesture of restraint that also signaled he was not yet ready to claim the post.

The Congress's decision to abandon the DMK shocked Tamil Nadu's political establishment. The two Dravidian parties had governed the state in alternation since 1967, and their alliance had held for thirty years. Congress leaders justified the move by invoking secularism. The party had only five seats, they acknowledged, but those five were essential to keep what they called "Hindutva forces"—meaning the BJP—out of power. Congress MP Christopher Tilak said the party supported Vijay because he held "complete faith in the principle of secularism." Congress general secretary KC Venugopal confirmed that Vijay had reached out directly, and after consultation with the national leadership, the Tamil Nadu unit decided to back him. The decision, Congress leaders insisted, was not betrayal but fidelity to the people's mandate for change.

The DMK, reeling from its electoral loss, responded with fury. Spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai called Congress "backstabbers" and said the party had "made a complete fool of itself." He pointed out that Congress's five seats would not move the needle—TVK would still be four short of majority even with Congress support. The AIADMK, which had won 43 seats, was also willing to extend support, he noted. So whose backing would TVK actually take? The question hung in the air as Vijay began a frantic round of negotiations.

On May 7, Vijay's team moved more than fifty MLAs to a luxury resort in Mamallapuram, a coastal town south of Chennai. The move was a standard political maneuver—keep the legislators together, prevent defections, maintain discipline. Heavy police presence surrounded the hotel. Meanwhile, Vijay's general secretary CTR Nirmal Kumar visited the CPI office and sought the Communist party's support. The party asked for time to decide. Vijay also reached out to the VCK, a Dalit-focused party with two seats, and the IUML, a Muslim-majority party. VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan said his party would discuss the matter and decide within a day or two. He also criticized the Governor's demand for proof, arguing that Vijay should be invited to form the government first and then prove his majority on the assembly floor—that was how the Constitution worked, he said.

The Governor's insistence on documentary proof before extending an invitation created a constitutional standoff. Congress leaders argued that governments were decided on the floor of the assembly, not on the lawns of Lok Bhavan, the Governor's residence. VCK and Congress leaders both said the Governor had no right to demand proof before inviting Vijay to take the oath. But the Governor held firm. Sources close to him said he wanted a stable government and would invite Vijay only once the numbers were proven. The DMK spokesperson, while critical of Congress, acknowledged that the Governor was "well within his rights" to demand such proof under the Supreme Court's Rameshwar Prasad precedent, which gave governors discretion in cases where no single party or pre-poll alliance had a clear majority.

Behind the scenes, other scenarios were being discussed. Sources from the DMK and AIADMK said the two parties were exploring a fallback option: the AIADMK could form a government with outside support from the DMK and backing from smaller parties. The BJP, meanwhile, was reportedly uncomfortable with the prospect of a Congress-backed government in Tamil Nadu, especially after the party's recent gains in Kerala. Some AIADMK leaders were under pressure to support TVK instead, creating internal tensions in a party already fractured since the death of J. Jayalalithaa. One AIADMK leader, KP Munusamy, declared flatly that his party would not support TVK under any circumstances. Another, V. Jayaraman, insisted that Edappadi Palaniswami was the party's only leader and would "win soon."

Vijay himself sought two months from the Governor to prove his majority, a request that signaled how uncertain the path forward had become. A fan stood outside his house on the morning of May 7, offering prayers and expressing faith that he would become chief minister despite the obstacles. "After struggling so much to come this far, it is painful to see such people doing these kinds of things," the supporter said. By midday, Vijay had left his residence for a crucial meeting with his party's elected MLAs. The swearing-in that was supposed to happen on May 7 or May 8 had vanished into an indefinite future. What remained was a scramble for numbers, a constitutional dispute over procedure, and a state government in limbo.