‘TVK Doesn’t Have Majority’: Governor Refuses Oath To Vijay, Say Sources

Tamil Nadu Governor R. V. Arlekar is reportedly still unconvinced that superstar-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has enough support to form the next government.

Vijay’s TVK made a stunning debut in last month’s Assembly elections, emerging as the single largest party. However, the party is still short of the majority mark, making the government formation process complicated.

According to sources, the Governor summoned Vijay to his Lok Bhavan residence on Thursday morning and asked him a series of questions.

The key question was how he proposed to run a government with only 113 MLAs when the majority mark in the Assembly is 118.

Vijay was also reportedly asked to clarify which parties would support the TVK and whether he had firm written backing from them.

Sources said the actor-politician had earlier indicated that he expected support from the Left parties, which have four seats, and smaller Tamil regional parties, which together have six seats, to cross the majority mark.

The TVK, meanwhile, has indicated that it will not approach the courts at this stage to force the Governor to invite the party to form the government.

Sources also said Vijay told the Governor that he was ready to face a floor test.

The two had also met on Wednesday, when Arlekar reportedly rejected Vijay’s claim to form the government. Lok Bhavan sources later said the Governor was not convinced by the numbers presented by the TVK.

Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has 108 seats, which is 10 short of the majority mark.

The Congress, which has five MLAs, has offered conditional support to the TVK. Its condition is that Vijay’s party should have no truck with “communal forces,” an indirect reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The remaining numbers are expected to come from the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), along with smaller Tamil parties such as the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Pattali Makkal Katchi.

A possible combination of TVK, Congress, Left parties, VCK and PMK would give Vijay 123 seats. This number would come down to 122 after Vijay resigns from one of the two seats he won, as he contested and won from both constituencies.

However, doubts remain over this arrangement. The VCK is currently allied with the outgoing DMK, which Vijay has positioned as his main political rival. The PMK, on the other hand, is aligned with the BJP, which Vijay has described as his ideological opponent.

Both parties would have to break away from their existing alliances to support Vijay. Still, political observers believe this route appears to be the most practical path for the TVK to form the government and for Vijay to become Chief Minister.

The other option, considered less likely, is an alliance between the TVK and the AIADMK, the other major Dravidian party that has dominated Tamil Nadu politics for decades.

There is also speculation about internal differences within the AIADMK over whether to support Vijay.

During the election campaign, the TVK launched sharp attacks on the DMK and the BJP, building a “good versus evil” narrative with Vijay projected as the hero. That strategy delivered rich political dividends.

However, Vijay and the TVK did not directly target the AIADMK in the same aggressive manner. This has now fuelled speculation that some AIADMK factions may be open to supporting him.

Reports on Thursday claimed that more than a dozen AIADMK legislators, enough to push the TVK beyond the majority mark, were ready to support Vijay and had moved to a resort in Puducherry to force the issue.