Chennai, May 6 (IANS) Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Wednesday asserted that the party is giving shape to the verdict given by Tamil Nadu’s people in the state Assembly polls.

His reaction came after the Congress formally announced its support to actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form the next government in Tamil Nadu, while making it clear that the backing would remain conditional on keeping “communal forces” away from the alliance.

The Congress had described the electoral verdict as a strong mandate for a “secular, progressive and welfare-oriented government” rooted in constitutional values.

With no party securing an absolute majority in the state, the TVK registered a victory with 108 seats.

Speaking to IANS, Karti Chidambaram said: “The people of Tamil Nadu have given a mandate for change. The mandate is for change from the DMK and the AIADMK formations. And they have clearly given a mandate for a government to be led by Vijay and TVK.”

However, he added that the people have not given a singular mandate to the party.

“What they have said is, Vijay, go ahead and form a government, but please add on a few other parties to give a majority and a stable government and that is what Vijay is doing,” he said.

Chidambaram further said: “He (Vijay) is respecting the mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu. He is reaching out to political parties saying that ‘I am the largest bloc here; people have voted for me to form a government. But I need the aid and assistance of other political parties to have a stable and secular government. I seek your support’.”

He asserted that the Congress is only reacting to TVK’s reach out.

“What we are doing now is giving shape and substance to the verdict of Tamil Nadu’s people,” he mentioned.

Further, the Congress MP reaffirmed that the conditions are very clearly set that the party wants a secular government in Tamil Nadu.

He said: “We do not want communal forces to come into the government in any form or shape. And we are very, very clear that we want a stable and secular government and we will aid and assist a secular and stable government in Tamil Nadu.”

“So obviously the parties want a long-standing relationship and that’s being articulated in our letter of support,” he added.

–IANS

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