President of the VCK Thol. Thirumavalavan and CPI state secretary Veerapandian at a press conference announcing their support to the TVK party to form the government at the VCK headquarters in Chennai on May 9, 2026. | Photo credit: B. Velankanni Raj
A last minute attempt to get VCK leader Thol. As the first Scheduled Caste Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu, Thirumavalvan, with the support of DMK and AIADMK, learned that he failed last weekend.
On Monday (May 11, 2026), VCK sources told The Hindu that Mr. Thirumavalavan was asked to withhold the letter of support for C. Joseph Vijay’s TVK. This prompted him to postpone the announcement until the evening of May 9.
“Initially, the AIADMK was unable to secure the agreement of its MLAs to the idea. When it seemingly convinced them around 4 pm, it decided against the proposal. We would face criticism that despite the TVK winning in 108 constituencies, the VCK with just two MLAs said it had hijacked the mandate of a senior VCK.”
Explaining the behind-the-scenes negotiations, he said the idea of making Mr. Thirumavalavan the CM came after the DMK-backed AIADMK bid for government ran into hurdles. CPI, CPI-M and VCK were informed about the AIADMK-DMK proposal.
“However, the Left leaders were not willing to support the AIADMK government as they were aware of the BJP’s role in the setup. This prompted the Left parties and the VCK to support the TVK to prevent the Governor’s rule,” the leader said.
While the Left parties handed over their letters of support to the TVK on May 8, some in the DMK and AIADMK approached the VCK with a fresh proposal.
Although many VCK members supported the proposal, Mr. Thirumavalavan was not convinced. On the night of May 8, he met a senior DMK leader while the AIADMK leader remained in touch with him. He discussed the issue again on May 9 instead of continuing with the press conference as originally planned.
In the evening, Mr. Thirumavalavan finally handed over the letter of support to TVK leader Adhav Arjun, who was waiting for him.
“Even if the government headed by Mr. Thirumavalavan survives for just one day, it would have created history,” said another VCK leader who supported the move.
Published – 11 May 2026 22:47 IST
