While the TVK did not have a simple majority to establish a government on its own, no other political party had the support of MLAs close to the minimum number of 118, he said.
Chennai: Announcing his party’s decision to extend support the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) in the formation of the next government in the State, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan said on Saturday that the move was to prevent the imposition of President's rule in Tamil Nadu and to ensure that the people's mandate was fulfilled.
Speaking to the media on Saturday after handing over the letter expressing his party' support to the TVK to that party’s general secretary Aadhav Arjuna, the VCK chief said that it was imperative on the part of the VCK to support the TVK in view of the prevailing uncertainty in government formation.
While the TVK did not have a simple majority to establish a government on its own, no other political party had the support of MLAs close to the minimum number of 118, he said.
Thirumavalavan said his party's decision was in sync with the decision of the two Left parties in the State and that it would not affect its ties with the DMK as the decision to back the TVK had already been conveyed to DMK president M K Stalin. He said the VCK exercised its freedom as a political party to take the decision of extending unconditional support to TVK, taking into account the long-term welfare of the State and continued to be part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.
The Left parties and the VCK had held separate discussions with their party leaders in view of the looming political crisis and arrived at a consensus with a long-term political perspective and taking into account future political considerations. All the three parties had given letters of support to the TVK, he said, adding that the VCK did not want to be a stumbling block in the formation of the new government by TVK.
While Vijay had expressed a desire to visit the VCK office to thank the party leaders for their support, Thirumavalavan requested him do it after the swearing-in ceremony. CPI state secretary M Veerapandian, who was also present in the media meet, urged the Governor to uphold the rules and help install the new government soon.
Following VCK's decision to back Vijay, another DMK ally, the IUML, too, issued a letter extending support to TVK. Since both IUML and VCK have two MLAs each, the support to the TVK has swelled to 120 seats, which is two more than the minimum 118 needed for a simple majority in the 234-member House.
Apart from the 108 seats won by the TVK in the April 23 elections, for which the results were declared on May 4, the Congress with 5 seats and CPI and CPM with two seats each had already pledged their support.
