The humid air hanging over Chennai this May feels heavier than usual, thick with electric tension surrounding back-to-back political developments. At a time when C. Joseph Vijay and his TVK where almost close to power, with the Left parties extending unconditional support, everything turned upside down as AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran entered the scene.
As TVK sought to cement its numbers, the old guard, particularly the DMK and the AIADMK, struck back with a classic piece of political theatre. Even as news broke of Tamil Nadu Congress MLAs being spirited away to Hyderabad to protect any potential poaching, the real drama began unfolding as Dhinakaran stepped in to lodge a local police complaint.
The crisis in Tamil Nadu reached a feverish pitch late Friday night when Dhinakaran intervened, alleging that his lone MLA, Kamaraj, had been abducted to facilitate horse trading. “My MLA is not picking up my phone, or he has been taken in custody, and his phone has been snatched. My MLA Kamaraj is missing. I demanded an immediate investigation by the governor,” Dhinakaran claimed on Friday night.
Later this morning, with Kamaraj beside him, Dhinakaran asked Vijay to release the original letter, which was signed by Kamaraj as they claimed. He also claimed the video released by the TVK party is AI-generated and that Kamaraj did not sign any letter. “They have released a video. If the letter is true, why only a copy of it was submitted to the governor? Where is the original letter then?” he asked. Stating that handing power to Vijay could be disastrous, he asked, “If the TVK and Vijay are acting brazenly at this point, what will they do when they come to power?”
This allegation and the complaint filed by Dhinakaran served as the perfect legal circuit breaker, making the state DGP Sandeep Rai Rathore investigate the disappearance of Kamaraj. It has also made Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar gain the necessary cover to officially call off the Saturday swearing-in ceremony.
Dhinakaran with his complaint seems to have successfully shifted the narrative from democratic formation to criminal investigation.
Vijay’s step towards being sworn in as the chief minister is now frozen, not just by a lack of numbers, but by a cloud of ethical and legal suspicion that empowers the opposition to seek a total realignment of the assembly.
However, TVK has denied the allegations raised by Dhinakaran by releasing a video showing Kamaraj willingly signing the support letter. TVK has dismissed Dhinakaran’s claims as “false news.”
This has, however, led to a deadlock as the governor is yet to decide on accepting Vijay’s move to stake claim to form government.