Tamil Nadu is preparing for a coalition government that it had not seen in decades. In 2006, the DMK led a minority government with outside support from the Congress. But this time with the numbers falling short of the majority mark of 118 in the 234 member assembly, the discussions within the TVK circles have moved from a celebratory note to constructive meetings. On Tuesday as Vijay met all his MLAs at the party office, the idea of going for a coalition government became visible.
On Tuesday, Vijay was formally elected as the legislative party leader of the TVK. He also formally sent a letter to Governor Rajendra Arlekar to invite him to form the government. He also said that the TVK will prove its majority within two weeks time. This deadline of “two weeks” only indicates Vijay’s confidence which stems out of the backdoor negotiations he has already had with the other political parties including the Congress, VCK and the Communists.
Vijay and his TVK have opened negotiations with the political parties which won single-digit seats by being in the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA). With just dozen seats short of the magic numbers, TVK is likely to get support from the secular forces including the Congress, the Communists, Thol. Thirumavalavan’s VCK and a few other smaller parties which have single digit numbers. Thirumavalavan has also indicated that he will continue to be part of a secular alliance that is not with the BJP.
And as part of its strategy to secure numbers to cross the majority mark, Vijay and his TVK, sources say have agreed to give away four to six cabinet berths to the alliance partners. And Congress is demanding two berths from the TVK, while the VCK and the two communists might get one each for supporting the government. Out of the 107 MLAs except for former minister K.A. Sengottaiyan, Sathyabama, V.S. Babu, J.C.D. Prabhakaran most of them are first time MLAs who do not know the depth of administration or governance. Sources say that these former heavyweights from the AIADMK might secure lucrative portfolios while other faces like TVK general secretary Bussy N. Anand, Santiago Martin’s son-in-law Aadhav Arjun, C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, former IRS officer K.G. Arun Raj and Raj Mohan are likely to get cabinet berths.