Vijay calls on TN Guv for govt formation

According to Marxist leader and former CPI M state secretary K Balakrishnan, besides the two Left parties, VCK and IUML have also given letters, indicating they too have extended support to TVK, which originally lacked numbers to form government.

TVK chief Vijay, buoyed by the support from the Left parties, on Friday called on Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at the Lok Bhavan here in connection with securing an invite from him to form the government. According to Marxist leader and former CPI (M) state secretary K Balakrishnan, besides the two Left parties, VCK and IUML ''have also given letters,'' indicating they too have extended support to TVK, which originally lacked numbers to form government. He claimed Vijay is ''being invited'' by the governor Arlekar to form government and that he will be sworn-in on Saturday morning. Vijay, who has already staked claim to form the government, had a brief meeting with the Governor, sources said. Hours after the Left parties pledged unconditional support, Vijay reached the office of the governor in Guindy and TVK supporters broke into celebrations here and elsewhere in the state. Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, with 108 seats but 10 short of a majority initially, had earlier reached out to CPI, CPI (M) and the VCK-- all DMK allies, seeking their support to form government after winning its maiden Assembly election in Tamil Nadu which was held on April 23. All three have two MLAs each in the 234-member House. The CPI and CPI (M) have extended support to Vijay, while VCK will announce its decision on Saturday. Vijay later visited the offices of the CPI and CPI-M and thanked the Left leaders for their support to his party to form the government. Left parties have asserted that they will support the TVK form government but also continue their ''journey'' with the DMK. CPI State Secretary M Veerapandian said ''people have proposed democracy and we have seconded it,'' and we extend support to TVK. As regards protection of the state's rights and similar issues, the Left parties will continue to align with the DMK, CPI(M) State Secretary P Shanmugam said. Welcoming the outgoing Chief Minister M K Stalin's statement urging Governor Arlekar to immediately take necessary steps to ensure that a new government is formed as per the Constitution, IUML cryptically said ''its 2 MLAs would support the initiatives by the Governor towards the government formation.'' The statement by IUML top leader Prof KM Kader Mohideen is seen as a hint that IUML shall ''facilitate'' government formation by TVK. In the April polls, TVK won 108 seats and emerged as the single largest party. TVK founder Vijay will have to resign from one of the two constituencies he has won, as per EC norms. Congress party has extended the support of its five MLAs to Vijay. As per the calculations, the strength of TVK and its supporting MLAs now stands at 116, including the requirement of Vijay resigning from one of the two seats he contested from-- Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East.