The Congress officially announced the support of 5 MLAs to Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form the government in Tamil Nadu on the condition of keeping out any communal forces from the alliance, a hint at keeping the BJP away.
The development follows a fractured mandate in the Tamil Nadu assembly election in which the TVK won 108 seats, 10 short of the majority mark, while the Congress won only 5 seats. An alliance with Congress would require the TVK 5 more seats to stake a claim to form the government in the state.
"The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has decided to extend its full support to the TVK to form the government. Our support shall be conditional upon the TVK keeping out of this alliance any communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution," the party said in a release.
Interestingly, the AIADMK, with its 47 seats, has also come into the picture of alliance talks with Vijay's close aide N Anand meeting Edappadi K Palaniswami in Chennai earlier in the day.
Vijay is yet to make any formal announcement about the alliance ahead of his meeting with Government Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at 3.30 pm on government formation.
State unit empowered to take call, says KC Venugopal
Earlier, KC Venugopal, AICC General Secretary (Organisation), said that the decision on whether to support the TVK rests with the party’s state unit, which is empowered to take the final call. He also noted that Vijay had reached out to the Congress seeking its support.
Senior Congress leaders met at the residence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday evening to discuss the matter. Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar were among those who attended the meeting.
“Today we had a meeting to discuss the Tamil Nadu political situation, basically the post-election scenario. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and in-charge Girish Chodankar were present. TVK President Vijay has requested the INC’s support to form a government in Tamil Nadu,” Venugopal said.
“The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government committed to protecting the Constitution. The INC does not want the BJP and its proxies to run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner... The Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Vijay’s request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state reflected in the electoral verdict,” he added.
Tamil Nadu Assembly Election result
Tamil Nadu has seen a significant change in its political landscape after the debut performance of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Led by actor-turned-politician Vijay, the party has surprised many by becoming the largest in the Assembly elections. TVK secured 108 seats in the 234-member House.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which had been a dominant force, finished in second place with 59 seats. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) followed with 47 seats.
Other parties had a smaller presence in the Assembly. The Congress managed to win 5 seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) secured 4.
Party-wise seats
| Party | Seats Won |
| TVK | 108 |
| DMK | 59 |
| ADMK | 47 |
| INC | 5 |
| PMK | 4 |
| IUML | 2 |
| CPI | 2 |
| VCK | 2 |
| CPI(M) | 2 |
| BJP | 1 |
| DMDK | 1 |
| AMMKMNKZ | 1 |
