High political drama unfolded in Tamil Nadu on Friday as Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary TTV Dhinakaran met Governor Rajendra Arlekar and urged him to invite AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami to form the government.
The development came just hours after Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay met the governor for the third time to stake claim to power following the fractured Assembly verdict.
There were speculations over AMMK’s support for Vijay after a purported letter surfaced online. However, Dhinakaran swiftly dismissed the document as “forged” and accused TVK leaders of attempting “horse-trading”.
Addressing reporters after meeting the governor, Dhinakaran asserted that his party is firm in its stance of continuing in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and reiterated his unwavering support for Palaniswami as chief minister.
“I am supporting AIADMK. I have submitted a letter in support of Edappadi Palaniswami to form the government. Our MLA S. Kamaraj has also signed it and sent it through my secretary,” he said.
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Dhinakaran claimed he was shocked to see reports suggesting that his party had backed Vijay.
“There was some other letter — maybe a forged one, or it may be a case of horse-trading. I tried contacting my MLA but could not reach him. He signed this letter around 6.30 pm and sent it here. When I saw on TV that our party had supported Vijay, I was shocked,” he said.
He further urged the governor to investigate the matter, calling it “a mockery of democracy”.
According to Dhinakaran, AMMK’s lone MLA is currently staying at a resort in Puducherry along with AIADMK’s newly elected legislators.
The latest twist has dealt another setback to Vijay’s efforts to gather enough support to cross the majority mark in the 234-member Assembly. TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats, but remains 10 short of the required majority.
Earlier, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) also denied reports that it had extended support to TVK.
“We didn’t support anybody. I didn’t give any letters to anybody. This is just a rumour. We are continuing with the alliance under the leadership of DMK,” IUML leader AM Shahjahan said.
Earlier in the day, Vijay had reached out to DMK allies — the CPI, CPI(M), and VCK — seeking their backing to form the government. While the CPI and CPI(M), which have two MLAs each, have extended support to TVK, the VCK is expected to announce its decision on Saturday.