Day after being sworn in as the ninth chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay on Monday met Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin at the latter's residence in Chennai, setting off fresh political speculation across the coastal state.
Although neither Vijay nor his party has issued a statement, sources have termed the meeting as a courtesy call between the two leaders. Vijay was also accorded a warm welcome by Stalin, and the two leaders honoured each other with silk shawls and bouquet, said sources.
The meeting between the two leaders come following the acrimonious electoral battle between the DMK and the TVK. Although TVK emerged as the single largest party, it was short of numbers to form the government. However, Stalin had persuaded smaller parties to support Vijay so that a stable government is formed in Tamil Nadu, DMK spokesperson A Sarvanan said.
"Congratulations to the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Vijay. He has been able to become the chief minister with the help of DMK allies. Our leader MK Stalin does not want a constitutional crisis and he persuaded allies (to join hands with the TVK) after extensive consultations," Sarvanan claimed.
The TVK had won 108 seats, including two by Vijay, and was short of the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. The Congress, with five MLAs, immediately extended support to TVK. Later, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) -- all with two MLAs each -- supported Vijay, making sure that he forms the government.
It is worth nothing that though the VCK and Left parties are backing Vijay, they have said that they still remain a part of the DMK-led coalition.
Meanwhile, after Vijay's swearing in on Sunday, Stalin had congratulated the TVK leader but advised him not to say that the Tamil Nadu government has no money. In a long post on X, the former chief minister said Tamil Nadu's debt remained well within the "permissible limits".
"We had clearly explained the financial position of the Tamil Nadu government in the February budget itself. Didn't you know that? It was only after that you made so many promises to the people. Don't deceive the people who voted for you and try to divert the issue," he said.
