Vijay to take oath on Sunday morning, thanks to the governor

The chief of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) C. Joseph Vijay will swear-in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu tomorrow, Sunday, at 10 am. He was asked to prove his majority on the floor of the House on Wednesday.  Vijay has met the governor Rajendra Arlekar on Saturday, for the fourth  time in four days, and presented the papers to satisfy that 120 members of the new assembly (of 234 members) are supporting him to form the government. Besides the Congress, the CPI and CPM  have given letters of support on Friday. On Saturday the two small parties VCK and IUML gave the letters of support. Vijay was elected from two constituencies and the BJP has a lone member who is supposed to be neutral. Then the new House will have an effective strength of 233 of which 120 is a clear majority.

Uncertainty continued to hang over Vijay’s government formation on Saturday evening with VCK (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi) chief Thol. Thirumavalavan withholding formal support to TVK despite earlier indication that his party would be supporting the new government along with the Left parties and the Congress. Throughout Friday night the political circles were guessing the VCK is aiming at the position of deputy chief minister. Thirumavalavan has been holding meetings with leaders of the TVK, and the chief of AIADMK Palaniswami till late in the night.  He reportedly arrived at outgoing chief minister Stalin’s residence at 10 pm.

There is controversy involving a lone legislator Dhinakaran belonging to Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam. The lone legislator was staying with the newly elected MLAs of AIADMK in Puducherry resort. He was called outside briefly and asked to sign the letter supporting Vijay which he did sitting in a car and then went inside. The TVK leaders took the photograph of the letter and sent it to Vijay who submitted it to the governor on Friday evening.  who suspected the foul play and insisted that the letter should be written on the letterhead of the MLA. It ultimately failed. Later he alleged that his signature was forged. This created an impression that Vijay’s men are making fake claims and buying the loyalty of legislator. Vijay was expecting the backing of VCK and IUML legislators. VCK leader Thirumavalavan even publicly said on Thursday that he would support Vijay along with the Left parties. IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) leader Kader Mohideen told the Hindu that they have been in alliance with the DMK for many years and there is no question of leaving the alliance. Sources in Governor’s office (Lok Bhavan) reiterated on Saturday afternoon that Vijay has the support of only 116 members of the new House. However, by Saturday evening both VCK and IUML have given letters of support to Vijay who submitted them to the governor. The governor has invited Vijay to take oath at 10 am on Sunday.

The VCK Factor: Kingmaker or Power Player?

However, the insistence by the governor that the chief ministerial candidate has to prove his majority to him before the oath is administered is not in accordance with the spirit of the constitution and many judgments delivered by the Supreme Court of India. In case of a hung assembly, the governor has to invite the leader of the largest party to form the government and then face a test in the new House. Even if the new government loses the floor test and collapses there is nothing wrong. The new government should win or lose on the floor of the House. There was a midnight hearing in 2018 in the Supreme Court where the Congress MLAs of Karnataka had pleaded that BJP leader Yudyurappa had no majority support in Karnataka Assembly and his swearing-in should not be allowed.  But the SC refused to stay the swearing-in. The Yedurappa government had failed on the floor of the House and collapsed in 36 hours of swearing-in. In Goa in 2017, Uttarakhand in 2016 and Maharashtra in 2019, the leader of the largest party was invited by the governors to form respective governments. By demanding the letters of the elected MLAs in support of the TVK leader, the governor has pre-empted this process and betrayed the spirit of the Constitution.

Forgery and Resorts: The Dhinakaran Controversy

There is controversy involving a lone legislator Dhinakaran belonging to Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam. The new legislator was staying with the newly elected MLAs of AIADMK in Puducherry resort. He was called outside briefly and asked to sign the letter supporting Vijay which he did in a car parking and went inside. The TVK leaders took the photograph of the letter and sent it to Vijay who submitted it to the governor who suspected the foul play and insisted that the letter should be written on the letterhead of the MLA. It ultimately failed. Later he alleged that his signature was forged. Dhinakaran said on Saturday that he would address a press conference on Sunday at 11 am. This created an impression that Vijay’s men are indulging in making fake claims and buying the loyalty of legislators.

Vijay was expecting the backing of VCK and IUML legislators. VCK leader Thirumavalavan even publicly said on Thursday that he would support Vijay along with the Left parties. IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) leader Kader Mohideen told the Hindu that they have been in alliance with the DMK for many years and there is no question of leaving the alliance. Sources in Governor’s office(Lok Bhavan) reiterated on Saturday afternoon that Vijay has the support of only 116 members of the new House. However, by Saturday evening both VCK and IUML have given letters of support to Vijay who submitted them to the governor. The governor has invited Vijay to take oath at 10 am on Sunday.

Constitutional Debate: Raj Bhavan vs. Supreme Court Precedents

However, the insistence by the governor that the chief ministerial candidate has to prove his majority to him before the oath is administered is not in accordance with the spirit of the constitution and many judgments delivered by the Supreme Court of India. In case of a hung assembly, the governor has to invite the leader of the largest party to form the government and then face a test in the new House. Even if the new government loses the floor test and collapsed there is nothing wrong. The new government should win or lose on the floor of the House. There was a midnight hearing in 2018 in the Supreme Court where the Congress MLAs of Karnataka had pleaded that BJP leader Yediyurappa had no majority support in Karnataka Assembly and he should be stopped from taking oath. But the SC refused to stay the swearing-in. The Yedurappa government had failed on the floor of the House and collapsed within 36 hours. In Goa in 2017, Uttarakhand in 2016 and Maharashtra in 2019, the leader of the largest party was invited by the governors to form government. By demanding the signatures of the elected MLAs in support of the TVK leader, the governor is pre-empting this process and betraying the spirit of the Constitution.

Vijay’s TVK swept last month’s election winning 108 out of 234 seats on its debut. The cinema hero’s party has broken Dravidian giants DMK and AIDMK’s 59-years strangle hold on State politics. But the joy of winning was short lived as Governor Arlekar insisted on proving Vijay’s majority before swearing-in. Vijay met the governor on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to persuade him to allow swearing in as his is the single largest party. But the governor did not budge. By Saturday evening Vijay had the letter of support from the five parties. The Governor was apparently satisfied.

A Seismic Shift: The End of the DMK-Congress Era

Congress did not take much time to decide to support Vijay. On the day of counting itself, Rahul Gandhi called Vijay and congratulated him. It had pledged its support to TVK as soon as the results were announced. But it was not taken kindly by Stalin, the chief of the DMK, the outgoing party. The Congress should have discussed with Stalin along with leaders of the Left parties and persuaded him to allow them to support Vijay to prevent BJP allies from forming the government. Had leaders like PV Narasimha Rao or Pranab Mukherjee been there at the helm of the Congress they would have tried to persuade Stalin before declaring support to Vijay. But Rahul Gandhi is different. He was operating from some place not known to the leaders. It is true that there was pressure from some leaders in Tamil Nadu declare support to Vijay. There were talks between TVK leaders and Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu. Vijay offered forty seats to the Congress if it is prepared to fight the election as a partner of TVK. But Chidambaram was very particular that the tie-up with the DMK should continue.

Congress president Kharge also was with Chidambaram. Manikkam Tagore and other leaders were sure that Vijay was winning the elections and the Congress would gain by partnering with the TVK. Rahul Gandhi was with this group since the Congress was not allowed to join the DMK ministry for all these years. They were partners since 2004. DMK had left the UPA alliance in 2013 in support of the Tamil Issue in Sri Lanka. Later the DMK had walked back into the Congress fold and they have been together ever since. The DMK wrote to the Speaker of Lok Sabha the other day that the tie-up with the Congress has ended, they would not sit with the Congress and separate seats have to be allotted to them. This is sure to create problems for INDI alliance. The Congress, on its part, declared that it will continue its alliance with the TVK in the local body elections and Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elections. It means the Congress leadership has been waiting for the opportunity to end its alliance with the DMK. Stalin has also played unprincipled  politics. In his anxiety to see that Vijay is not allowed to form a government, he was prepared to give outside support to AIADMK if Palaniswami was allowed to form a government. The CPM leader divulged the information that Stalin has asked the Left parties to support AIADMK government from outside. It would have been like Karunanidhi extending support to Jayalalithaa government. Politics makes strange bedfellows. The complicate story has ended well with the hero to whom the people have given mandate is taking over tomorrow. It was delayed by four days with the governor insisting on proving majority before giving the oath.

Dr. K. Ramachandra Murthy

Prominent Journalist

Dr. K. Ramachandra Murthy is a versatile journalist with a distinguished career. Dr. Murthy began his extensive career with Andhra Prabha of The Indian Express group in Bengaluru. He was editor of Udayam, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothy. Dr. Murthy founded and edited HMTV news channel and The Hans India, an English newspaper. He was also editorial director of the Telugu newspaper, Saakshi. He was awarded Ph. D for his research work in rural reporting. Dr. Murthy’s five decades in journalism showcases his influential roles across both print and electronic media. He wrote the political biography of NTR published by Harper Collins.