Tamil Nadu government formation LIVE: Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) not only made a remarkable political debut by winning 108 seats in the 234-member assembly, but also dismantled the duplicity of Dravidian politics in the state.
Vijay won from both the Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies even as incumbent Chief Minister MK Stalin lost from the Kolathur seat to the TVK candidate by a margin of over 8,700 votes. He is likely to give up one seat and retain Perambur in Chennai.
With TVK’s victory, Tamil Nadu may witness its first government outside the dominance of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) since June 1977.
However, Vijay’s TVK fell short of the majority mark by 10 seats despite emerging as the single largest party. Vijay needs to cross the majority mark of 118 seats to form the government.
TVK is likely to seek the support of smaller parties that were part of either the DMK or the AIADMK alliance.
Congress (5 seats), PMK (4 seats), left parties, CPI(M) and VCK are among the parties that could expand the TVK.
AICC’s Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar had earlier said that he had given a report to the Congress leadership and they would “call Tamil Nadu”.
Meanwhile, the DMK won 59 seats and the AIADMK 47. The BJP, unable to make inroads in the state, won only one seat.
The results also shattered long-held notions of actors trying to make it in politics as Vijay now joins the league of iconic actors-turned-leaders like NT Rama Rao, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.
His performance confirms that his cinematic popularity has translated into a deep emotional connection with the masses, which is clearly reflected in the public mandate.
