Tamil Nadu Congress Supports TVK Leader Vijay to Form Secular Government

The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu Affairs of the party Girish Chodankar had called the meeting of the Committee to decide on extending support to TVK.The meeting, the sources said, was convened on Zoom and senior members expressed their views in favour of supporting the actor-turned-politician.The PAC of Tamil Nadu Congress unanimously decided to support TVK leader Thiru Vijay to form a secular government in Tamil Nadu, the sources confirmed.Also ReadEvery 6th BJP MP in Lok Sabha won through 'vote chori': Rahul GandhiCong says TVK chief Vijay sought its support to form govt in Tamil NaduHung verdict in Tamil Nadu: Where can Vijay get support to form govt?How Vijay managed to pull off in Tamil Nadu what Kamal, Rajini couldn'tTN Guv accepts Stalin's resignation, asks him to continue as caretaker CMEarlier during the day, the Congress claimed that Vijay had sought its support for government formation in the state and informed that its leadership has directed the state unit to take a final decision on the matter, keeping in view the state's sentiments.The party, which fought the assembly election in alliance with the DMK, asserted that the mandate in the southern state is for a secular government and that it is determined "not to have the BJP and its proxies run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner."Top Congress leaders held a meeting at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Tuesday evening that was attended by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, among others.Addressing the media after the meeting, Congress general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal had said the party leadership discussed the post-election scenario in the southern state."TVK President Thiru Vijay has requested the Indian National Congress for support to form a Government in Tamil Nadu," he said."The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government that is committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to have the BJP and its proxies run the Government of Tamil Nadu in any manner," he said.Venugopal said the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Thiru Vijay's request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state reflected in the electoral verdict.Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded."Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance."Referring to the Congress' decision to extend support to TVK, Annadurai said, "We have supported the Congress through and through. And it is our leader, M K Stalin who projected Rahul (Congress leader) as the Prime Ministerial candidate."Questioning the arithmetic, he said the TVK lacked sufficient numbers to form the government."They need at least 11 to 12 MLAs to stay afloat. And Congress has only five MLAs. What difference will they make?" the DMK leader asked.According to him, the Congress is "self-destructing" for the sake of two berths in the TVK cabinet. Also, the AIADMK has decided to support the TVK."So whose support will the TVK take? five MLAs or 47 MLAs? I don't know who takes all these decisions and it is not in the interest of the country," he said.Annadurai claimed that Vijay failed to properly thank the voters of his constituency or the state after the results were declared.Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.