New Delhi [India], May 8 : The top brass of the Congress party, including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, will attend the swearing-in ceremony of TVK chief Vijay as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, according to INC sources.
This comes as the actor-turned-politician and TVK chief Vijay is poised to take charge as the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after the party secured crucial support from key political parties, including the five Congress MLAs, and completed the required majority mark in the 234-member Assembly, sources and party leaders indicated on Friday.
The development comes after Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan, where he formally staked claim to form the government after consolidating support from multiple parties following the fractured mandate in the recently concluded Assembly elections. TVK, which emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats, had fallen short of the majority mark of 118 required to form the government independently.
However, the Congress party had formally announced its full support to TVK and its chief Vijay in forming the next government in Tamil Nadu, ending its alliance with its previous partner, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), in a bid to back the new political formation. Congress had fought the election as part of the DMK-led alliance but had decided to extend support to TVK.
With the support of Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Vijay's party has successfully crossed the majority threshold.
The CPI, CPI(M) and VCK, which won 2 seats each, extended their support to TVK, taking the tally of the party above the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member assembly, along with the 5 seats from Congress.
The CPI (M), in an official letter, conveyed its support to TVK for the purpose of forming a government in the state, while CPI extended "conditional support" to the Vijay-led party in favour of "stable, secular and democratic governance for the people of Tamil Nadu."
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