Chennai, May 7 (IANS) With no party securing an outright majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, led by actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay has emerged as the single largest party after winning 108 seats in the 234-member House.

With the support of the Congress, the alliance’s strength has risen to 112 Members of the Legislative Assembly, excluding Vijay’s own constituency result, but the combined strength remains short of the majority mark of 118.

Amid the continuing political uncertainty over government formation, Vijay on Tuesday met Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and staked a claim to form the government.

However, reports suggested that the Governor informed the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief that the party could only be invited to form the government after demonstrating adequate numerical support in the Assembly.

Following the developments, Vijay again met the Governor on Wednesday in a meeting that lasted for more than 40 minutes.

Soon after the meeting, the Governor’s office issued an official statement saying that Vijay had explained that Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam currently did not possess the required number of Members of the Legislative Assembly to independently form the government.

As part of its renewed efforts to secure support, the senior Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leaders intensified negotiations with various political parties on Wednesday.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam General Secretary CTR Nirmal Kumar reportedly met the state secretaries of the Left parties seeking their backing for the proposed government.

Simultaneously, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam representatives Arunraj and Mustafa met Indian Union Muslim League national president Kader Mohideen and sought the party’s support.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kader Mohideen confirmed that Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam had approached the Indian Union Muslim League formally.

He said Vijay, as the leader of the single largest party, had every democratic right to stake a claim to form the government.

Mohideen also revealed that the Indian Union Muslim League leadership would hold discussions with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. K. Stalin later in the evening before arriving at a final decision.

“We have been aligned with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance for nearly 30 years. Any political decision we take will be after consulting the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leadership,” he said.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam currently requires the support of at least six more Members of the Legislative Assembly to cross the majority threshold.

The two Left parties and the Indian Union Muslim League together hold six seats, making them crucial to Vijay’s bid for power.

Meanwhile, CTR Nirmal Kumar clarified that Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam would not seek support from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, ruling out any possibility of an alliance with the saffron camp.

–IANS

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