Tamil Nadu Assembly floor test | Big victory for TVK; CM Vijay wins trust vote with support of 144 MLAs

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday, May 13, won the crucial floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, securing the majority required for his fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government to continue in office amid high political drama and cross-voting within the opposition AIADMK.

Chief Minister Vijay moved the confidence motion in the Assembly as directed by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who had asked the government to prove its majority on or before May 13.

The motion was passed with the support of Congress, CPI, CPI(M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), besides a sizeable section of rebel AIADMK MLAs led by senior leaders SP Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam.

Floor leaders of various parties spoke during the debate before the trust vote was taken up. While the BJP maintained a “neutral” stand, the Anbumani Ramadoss-led PMK, which has four MLAs in the House, abstained from voting.

The victory marks a major political milestone for Vijay, whose party formed the government for the first time after emerging as a key force in the April 23 Assembly elections.

The ruling TVK had an effective strength of 106 during the trust vote after Tirupattur MLA R Seenivasa Sethupathy was barred from voting following a Madras High Court ruling in an election-related case. The Speaker also did not cast a vote.

Apart from TVK legislators, the government received the backing of five Congress MLAs. CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML, with two MLAs each, had earlier announced outside support to the government.

The biggest boost, however, came from the rebel faction within the AIADMK. Around 30 MLAs owing allegiance to Velumani and Shanmugam defied party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami’s stand and backed the Vijay government during the floor test.

Palaniswami had directed AIADMK legislators to vote against the confidence motion and warned that anti-defection provisions would apply to MLAs going against the party whip.

The trust vote proceedings witnessed heated exchanges between treasury and opposition benches, with the AIADMK accusing the ruling camp of engineering defections, while TVK leaders described the support extended to the government as a reflection of the “changing political mood” in Tamil Nadu.