Vijay’s march to Fort St George may finally have crossed the halfway mark, but only after five days of intense backroom negotiations, political brinkmanship and a prolonged wait for support letters that kept Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) hanging just below the majority line.Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) finally backed with its two MLAs, taking the number of TVK-led alliance to 119. However effectively it is 118 as Vijay contested from two constituencsy and would be required to vacate one as per the rules, making the TVK’s tally 107.Soon after VCK backing the TVK, the two Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) also backed Vijay’s party.With this, TVK (107) now has the support of Congress (5), CPI (2), CPM (2) and VCK (2), IUML (2), taking its tally to 120, crossing the majority mark of 118.
TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna met VCK chief Thirumavalavan in Chennai on Saturday.
For actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay, the days following the May 4 Tamil Nadu assembly election results were less about celebration and more about survival arithmetic.TVK emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member assembly, placing Vijay within striking distance of the chief minister’s chair but still 10 short of the majority mark of 118. What followed was a high-voltage political see-saw involving the DMK, AIADMK, Left parties, Congress, VCK and even late-night visits to Raj Bhavan.
TVK reels in the spoils
At the centre of the uncertainty stood Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) chief Thol Thirumavalavan.While Congress quickly backed TVK with five MLAs, the VCK adopted a cautious wait-and-watch approach, repeatedly delaying a formal announcement despite intense speculation that it would eventually support Vijay. That hesitation kept TVK stuck in suspense for nearly five days and forced Vijay’s camp to simultaneously keep communication channels open with multiple political players.
Parallel power game
The uncertainty deepened as parallel power games unfolded across Chennai.Soon after results were declared, senior AIADMK leaders S P Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam reportedly explored the possibility of engineering support for Vijay by attempting to bring over enough AIADMK MLAs to cross the two-thirds threshold under anti-defection provisions. The proposal reportedly included demands for seven ministerial berths and a deputy chief minister post in a potential TVK-led government.At the same time, another political axis was taking shape.
The spree of twists
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) reportedly opened channels with the DMK leadership to explore the possibility of preventing Vijay from taking office altogether. The proposal allegedly involved a DMK-backed AIADMK government, an idea that triggered intense backchannel discussions inside the Dravidian ecosystem.As speculation intensified, Palaniswami moved quickly to contain any rebellion within his party. AIADMK MLAs were shifted to resorts in Puducherry and isolated from communication in scenes reminiscent of Tamil Nadu’s earlier resort-politics era. The party also publicly ruled out extending support to TVK “under any circumstance”.Meanwhile, Vijay’s camp remained locked in constant negotiations.Between May 4 and May 6, TVK leaders Bussy Anand, Aadhav Arjuna and strategist John Arokiasamy reportedly held multiple rounds of discussions with the Velumani-Shanmugam group. Yet the talks never reached a breakthrough, particularly as Congress had already submitted support letters to TVK.The real suspense, however, revolved around the DMK alliance partners.
Left supports Vijay
While CPI and CPM gradually moved toward supporting Vijay, the VCK refused to immediately commit. Even as the Left parties publicly backed TVK on Friday to prevent what CPM described as “BJP entering through the back door” via governor’s rule, Thirumavalavan continued to hold back formal endorsement. That hesitation left Vijay tantalisingly short.
One big gap
By Friday night, TVK had the support of 117 legislators, just one short of the majority mark. Rumours spread that the Indian Union Muslim League would bridge the gap and pave the way for a Saturday swearing-in ceremony. But IUML initially denied supporting TVK, adding fresh uncertainty to an already volatile situation with late-night drama.Later, AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran met governor R V Arlekar demanding that Palaniswami be invited to form the government. He also alleged that his lone MLA had gone incommunicado and accused TVK of horse-trading before later claiming forged support letters had triggered panic.All through this, the VCK maintained strategic ambiguity.Even after CPI and CPM crossed over to Vijay’s side, Thirumavalavan met outgoing chief minister M K Stalin at his residence on Friday night, reportedly discussing an “amicable separation” from the DMK-led alliance. Yet no formal commitment emerged immediately from the VCK camp. However, only on Saturday did the deadlock finally break.Thirumavalavan announced “unconditional support” to TVK, taking Vijay’s numbers to the crucial 118 mark. Soon after, the Tamil Nadu unit of IUML also extended support to the party, effectively ending days of uncertainty over whether Vijay would actually manage to gather enough numbers to stake claim to form the government.For Vijay, the episode was an early lesson in coalition-era politics. The actor who stormed Tamil Nadu politics with a massive electoral debut discovered that emerging as the single-largest party was only half the battle.
