Newly elected Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday won the floor test in the Legislative Assembly with 144 votes in favor.
Along with the support of its allies, the TVK held a strength of 120 MLAs in the House. 22 MLAs voted against the TVK, and five MLAs abstained. However, the DMK staged a walkout of Assembly, reducing the total strength of the House during the voting.
According to reports, 25 AIADMK MLA have extended their support to Vijay’s TVK, helping ‘Thalapathy’ win the floor test.
The number of MLAs supporting Vijay shows that a faction of AIADMK rebels disobeyed the party whip and voted against it.
The TVK secured victory in the floor test after MLAs from the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), and VCK extended their support to the party. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), with its two MLAs, also backed the TVK government. In addition, expelled Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK) MLA Kamaraj has also supported the TVK in the Assembly.
Kamaraj said, “I supported the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government yesterday, I support it today, and I will continue to support it for the next five years. CM Vijay is protecting the entire state. I believe he will not leave me either. I am sure our Vijay will protect and save me too.”
While AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami stated that all 47 MLAs would vote against the TVK, the Assembly witnessed a rare internal clash within the party. Former minister and AIADMK MLA S P Velumani also addressed the House, but his remarks were opposed by supporters of Palaniswami, leading to an AIADMK-versus-AIADMK confrontation during the proceedings.
Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged that attempts were being made to lure MLAs, claiming that some members had been offered ministerial posts and positions in boards and corporations in return for supporting the government. He added in the Assembly that his party was not an adversarial force but wished to function as a responsible Opposition.
The TVK holds 107 seats in the Assembly after C Joseph Vijay resigned from Trichy East and retained Perambur. However, the party had 106 MLAs eligible to vote after the Madras High Court directed TVK leader Srinivasa Sethupathi not to participate in the confidence vote, following a challenge to the Tirupattur election results by the DMK in court.
The party got support from Congress (five seats), along with the CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML, which contribute two seats each. Adding one expelled AMMK MLA, the coalition’s strength currently stands at 120 seats (excluding Srinivasa Sethupathi).
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLAs staged a walkout during the voting. Leader of Opposition, Udhayanidhi Stalin, took a jibe at the TVK for taking away its allies, including Congress. “We are walking out of the Assembly. Once we walk out, you will get the majority. Govern well with it. I request you not to politicise the welfare schemes introduced by our government,” he said.
TVK made history by emerging as the single-largest party in the elections, ending the long Dravidian duopoly of DMK and AIADMK.
