Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026 | Vijay races to garner support from smaller parties as Governor asks TVK to establish majority

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday told Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) President C Joseph Vijay that he has not established the number required to form the government, effectively delaying his swearing-in as Chief Minister.

As the Governor took a hard stance asking TVK to demonstrate that it has the support of 117 MLAs, the actor-politician fast-tracked the process of enlisting the support of CPI (M), CPI, VCK, and IUML – whose combined strength is eight – by sending his lieutenants to meet leaders of the above-mentioned parties.

While C T R Nirmal Kumar met leaders of CPI and CPI (M), former IRS officer met Dr K G Arunraj met IUML chief Khadar Mohideen and sought support of their MLAs to enable TVK form the next government. Left parties said they will discuss the invitation from TVK at a high-level committee meeting on Friday and arrive at a decision.

Vijay himself spoke to VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, who informed that he will also take a decision “very soon.” The meetings came after the leaders met Stalin, who is believed to have told them to take a decision on their own and “not worry about the DMK” for now.

It is believed that the three parties are likely to announce their support to TVK in the next couple of days. All the three parties condemned the Governor for not inviting TVK to form the government, while the Congress has announced a protest on Friday in all district headquarters against the Governor’s insistence on proving the numbers before the floor test.

As tempers ran high, the Lok Bhavan issued a statement saying Vijay met the Governor on Thursday morning, their second meeting in two days, during which Arlekar explained that “the requisite majority support in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, essential for forming the Government, has not been established.”

The Governor is clear that Vijay will be invited to form the government only if he demonstrates that his party, TVK, has the required strength of 117 MLAs, the simple majority in a house of 234. With 113 MLAs – TVK’s 108 and Congress’ 5 seats – Vijay is short of four seats to reach the majority mark.

Sources said TVK made a “technical error” while staking claim to form the government, which forced the Governor to insist on proving the numbers before swearing-in. The letter included the names of 112 MLAs, including five from the Congress, and staked claim to form a coalition government, not from the single largest party. “That is the confusion,” a source said.

Constitutional experts said the Governor has the responsibility to see that the person who stakes claim to form government has the requisite number. He can form an opinion that whether he enjoys the majority and appointment of the Chief Minister is entirely the discretion of the Governor, they said.