Vijay to take oath as TN CM on Sunday; vote of confidence by May 13

Vijay was appointed CM after he presented letters of support from the VCK and the IUML who have two MLAs each.

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Saturday appointed TVK chief C Joseph Vijay as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and and the leader will take oath on Sunday, the Lok Bhavan said.

The swearing-in of the Vijay-led ministry will be held on Sunday at 10 am in Chennai at Nehru Stadium.

Vijay was appointed CM after he presented letters of support from the VCK and the IUML who have two MLAs each. The governor held talks for about an hour over the requisite support.

According to a Lok Bhavan press release, Vijay was appointed the chief minister by Governor Arlekar as per the provisions of the Constitution. The governor also invited Vijay to form ministry.

Further, Arlekar asked Vijay to seek the vote of confidence on or before May 13.

The TVK chief met the governor along with Congress top leader K Selvaperunthagai and leaders of supporting parties including the CPI-M State Secretary P Shanmugam. 

Key Allies Support Vijay's Government Formation

The uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu finally ended on Saturday after days of drama, with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam allies Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Indian Union Muslim League extending "unconditional support," to Vijay-led TVK and enabling it to cross the requisite numbers to form government. Yet, the party only got a thin majority in the 234-member assembly.

Taking into account support from VCK and IUML, who have 2 seats each, the TVK's seat tally has now touched 120, just two more than the simple majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly.

The suspense ended when the Thol.Thirumavalavan-led Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, which has two seats, finally extended support after keeping the TVK on tenterhooks and the political circles abuzz over its stand. VCK, a long time ally of the Left parties who had extended their support to Vijay on Friday, had earlier announced its decision would be in sync with their stand. 

Shortly after VCK's decision to back Vijay, another DMK ally, the IUML also extended support to TVK. The IUML has two MLAs.

Allegations of Horse-Trading and Forgery

The Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam faced serious allegations when NDA constituent AMMK accused it of alleged bid aimed at horse-trading. MLAs belonging to Congress, which has extended support to the TVK, have shifted to Hyderabad.

After the Left parties declared unconditional support to TVK to form the government asserting it was to prevent BJP's backdoor entry through Governor and to respect the people's mandate, VCK founder Thirumavalavan immediately went into a huddle with his party office-bearers through video-conferencing on Friday.

While it was expected that the VCK would announce its stand on Saturday morning, the party revealed its decision later in the day. There were unverified reports of some hard-bargaining between TVK and VCK, possibly over ministerial allocations, but there was no official confirmation from either sides.

Vijay, however, has been open to accommodate allies in his cabinet, in sync with VCK's stated position of power-sharing.

AMMK's Complaint and Counter-Allegations

Meanwhile, the AMMK has lodged a complaint with the Guindy police against the TVK, alleging the use of a "forged" support letter to stake claim for government formation. According to Guindy police, a petition has been received from AMMK General Secretary T T V Dhinakaran.

Speaking to reporters, the AMMK chief accused the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam of submitting a photocopy of a forged letter to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, falsely claiming the support of AMMK's lone MLA-elect from Mannargudi, S Kamaraj.

"The TVK, which claims to be a pure force, has indulged in forgery and horse-trading," Dhinakaran lashed out at a press conference.

He also questioned why the original letter, allegedly providing support from AMMK to TVK, was not submitted to the governor by Vijay's party and warned of legal action in the issue.

He alleged that the party attempted to bypass the anti-defection law by fabricating support. He also revealed that Kamaraj was "shocked" to see the forged document used in his name. On Friday, Dhinakaran had formally extended AMMK's support to AIADMK General Secretary Palaniswami.

Meanwhile, the TVK dismissed the allegations as "false news," releasing a counter-video purportedly showing MLA Kamaraj signing the "support letter" voluntarily.

The Guindy police are expected to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the petition before deciding on the registration of an FIR.

Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, with 108 seats, but 10 short of a majority initially, had earlier reached out to the Congress, CPI, CPI (M),VCK and IUML-- all DMK allies, seeking their support to form the government after winning its maiden Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, which was held on April 23. The results were declared on May 4.

Vijay, who has won from two segments, has to resign from one of them, bringing down the party's strength to 107. The number of MLAs from parties supporting the TVK-- Congress (5) and the CPI, CPI (M), VCK and IUML with two MLAs each, stands at 13.

The Congress has broken ties with DMK but the others have said they continue in the Dravidian-party lead alliance.