TN Polls: Congress backs Vijay's TVK, alliance still 5 short of majority

Congress ditches DMK to support actor Vijay's debutant party TVK. With 113 seats, the new alliance is 5 short of a majority and has approached the AIADMK, which has 47 seats, to form the government in Tamil Nadu.

TVK-Congress Alliance Seeks AIADMK Support to Form Government

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 6 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai and the party's state incharge Girish Chodankar on Wednesday met with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief Vijay at the TVK Headquarters in Chennai, confirming thier support to the debutant party in forming the next government in the state. With Congress' five seats and TVK's 108 seats, the alliance tally has reached 113 seats, which is still five seats short of the 118 majority.

TVK has approached AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS). AIADMK has won 47 seats in the assembly election, which will help TVK comfortably cross the halfway mark.

Congress Ditches DMK, Cites 'Overwhelming' Verdict for Vijay

Earlier, the Congress had formally announced its full support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and its chief Vijay in forming the next government in Tamil Nadu, ditching its old alliance partner DMK in a run for power. Vijay's TVK delivered an outstanding performance in its debut elections, outperforming Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)'s years-long monopoly.

The letter undersigned by Tamil Nadu Congress in charge, Girish Chodankar, emphasised that the people of the state delivered a "very clear, strong and overwhelming" verdict to TVK, led by Vijay. "Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) have decided to extend its full support to the TVK to form the government," the letter stated.

DMK Slams Congress's 'Myopic' Move

DMK Saravanan Annadurai criticised Congress for jumping ship, calling their decision "myopic" and accusing them of having "backstabbed" INDIA alliance partners. "I think this is a very short-sighted, myopic stand taken by the Congress, which they will regret. The 2029 big elections are coming, where we are very confident that we will be able to remove the BJP. But now, because of this decision by the Congress, it has made them a very unstable partner. The perception that is out in the entire country is that Congress cannot be trusted," he said. (ANI)

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