Vijay clears floor test with 144 MLAs backing TVK: How the high-stakes assembly showdown unfolded | India News

With the victory in the House, the actor-turned-politician has now formed the first coalition government led by a new entrant in Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian political era, breaking the decades-long dominance of the DMK and AIADMK.DMK won 59 seats, while AIADMK slipped to 47. The TVK, contesting its first assembly elections just two years after its formation, emerged as the largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member House.

How did Vijay secure the marks?

During the trust vote process, a rebel faction of the Congress, CPM, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and AIADMK extended support to the TVK government, helping CM Vijay comfortably win the floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Vijay was sworn in as Chief Minister at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on 7 May, becoming the first non-DMK and non-AIADMK Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 1967.

How did CM Vijay get there?

118 seats are required for a majority in the 234-member assembly. Although TVK won 108 seats, the party’s effective strength has come down to 107 after Vijay became chief minister and vacated one of the two seats it won.This left it 11 seats short of the majority mark.The Congress, which won five seats, extended its support to the TVK, ending its long-standing alliance with the DMK. The CPI and the CPM, with two seats each, also declared their support for Vijay.The breakthrough came after both VCK and IUML, after initially staying away from the alliance, finally agreed to support the TVK-led government after days of negotiations.TVK also received support from Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) MLA S Kamaraj. The alliance’s strength eventually increased to 121 seats, allowing Vijay to comfortably prove his majority in the assembly.

AIADMK vs AIADMK twist ahead of floor test

When Vijay personally visited AIADMK rebel leader C V Shanmugam at his residence in Chennai just a day before the trust vote, speculation began that a section of the AIADMK was gearing up to support the new government.Around 30 AIADMK MLAs believed to be part of the rebel camp have openly questioned party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami’s leadership following the party’s poor electoral performance.AIADMK won only 47 out of 164 seats. Shanmugam accused Palaniswami of seeking an arrangement with the DMK to prevent Vijay from forming the government.“We have faced defeat in the recently concluded elections. Not only in the recently concluded elections, we have faced defeats in previous elections as well. We have asked our general secretary to convene a general council meeting to discuss the reasons for this electoral defeat and to take further steps for the interest and development of the party,” he said.“Some people suggested that we, the AIADMK as a legislative party, should form the government with the support of the DMK. This proposal goes against the founding principles of our party as the AIADMK was formed to uproot the DMK, which we consider an evil force in Tamil Nadu,” he added.The allegation became politically significant as the AIADMK was established as the main rival of the DMK, making any possible understanding between the two parties within party ranks highly controversial.A rebel group led by former ministers SP Velumani and CV Shanmugam openly supported Vijay’s government and elected Velumani as their legislative party leader. Shanmugam said supporting Vijay was necessary to revive the “Amma regime” associated with former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.“He (Palaniswamy) wanted to form the government with DMK’s support,” Shanmugam alleged, adding that “We formed this party against the DMK. For 53 years, our politics was against it. In view of this, the AIADMK government’s proposal to support the DMK was rejected… If we form such an alliance, there will be no AIADMK.”“People’s mandate is not for TV, it is for Chief Minister Vijay,” he added. Language from the rebel camp fueled speculation that sections of the AIADMK saw Vijay as the political successor to the passionate mass politics represented by MGR and Jayalalithaa.

MLAs of all parties were whipped

The AIADMK leadership, meanwhile, tried to control the rebellion by issuing a whip ahead of the floor test. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP IS Inbadurai warned that any MLA who violates the official whip could face disqualification under the anti-defection law.Sharing a post on X, Inbadurai said the whip issued under AIADMK general secretary and legislature party leader Edappadi K Palaniswami will be binding on all party legislators.The DMK, however, denied reports of any post-poll alliance with the AIADMK and maintained that it would sit in the opposition. Political observers believe that the DMK could benefit from the ongoing AIADMK infighting.Earlier this week, Vijay delivered his maiden speech in the Assembly and said the House should act as both the “heart and brain” of democracy. He said that every party, irrespective of its strength, deserves equal respect within the Assembly.“Here, everyone is equal. Even parties represented by a single member in this House have to value their views equally to those expressed by members of the Tamilga Vetri Kazhagam, who have a larger mandate,” Vijay said.“Good suggestions must be accepted, and inappropriate ones rejected. This assembly must act as both the heart and brain of democracy,” he added.