Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay was extended an official invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the V. D. Satheesan-led UDF cabinet in Kerala.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief, however, did not attend the event, which witnessed the presence of dignitaries including the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Karnataka Deputy CM D. K. Shivakumar.
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The United Democratic Front in Kerala is led by the Congress -- a major ally of the TVK. However, Chief Minister Vijay ultimately did not attend the event for reasons which many may found obvious.
Why did Vijay give the event a skip?
It is said that Vijay didn't attend the grand event in Thiruvananthapuram, taking into consideration certain prevailing circumstances.
As per Tamil media reports, Vijay had not planned to visit Kerala for the ceremony. If the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister were to attend the event, controlling the crowd could become a major challenge, given his cult fanbase in the neighbouring state. Special security arrangements would have to be made for Vijay, making the task in hand even harder for the police department. With several high-profile Congress leaders already participating, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister decided to give the event a skip so as not to make the situation tougher for law enforcement, as well as to avoid managing excess crowds and traffic congestion.
Senior Congress leader V. D. Satheesan was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Kerala on Monday. Governor Rajendra Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Satheesan and his 20 cabinet colleagues.