With the victory in the House, the actor-turned-politician has now formed the first coalition government led by a new entrant in Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian political era, breaking the decades-long dominance of the DMK and AIADMK.DMK won 59 seats, while AIADMK was reduced to 47 seats. TVK, contesting its first assembly election barely two years after its formation, emerged as the largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member House.

How did Vijay achieve his marks?

During the trust vote proceedings, Congress, CPM, Viduthalai Chiruthigal Katchi (VCK), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and a rebel faction of AIADMK extended support to the TVK government, helping CM Vijay easily win the floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Vijay took oath as Chief Minister on 7 May at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, becoming the first non-DMK and non-AIADMK Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 1967.

How did CM Vijay reach there?

118 seats are required for majority in the 234-member assembly. Although TVK won 108 seats, the party’s effective strength dropped to 107 after Vijay vacated one of the two seats won after becoming the Chief Minister.Due to this, the party fell 11 seats short of the majority mark.The Congress, which won five seats, was the first party to extend support to the TVK, ending its long-standing alliance with the DMK. CPI and CPM also announced their support to Vijay with two seats each.The breakthrough came when the VCK and IUML, both of which had initially stayed away from the alliance, eventually agreed to support the TVK-led government after several days of talks.TVK also got the support of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) MLA S Kamaraj. The strength of the alliance eventually increased to 121 seats, helping Vijay easily prove his majority in the assembly.

AIADMK vs AIADMK twist before floor test!

Just a day before the trust vote, the political drama intensified when Vijay personally met senior AIADMK rebel leader C Ve Shanmugam at his residence in Chennai, triggering speculation that a section of the AIADMK was preparing to support the new government.Around 30 AIADMK MLAs, considered part of the rebel camp, have openly questioned the leadership of party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami following the party’s poor election performance.AIADMK won only 47 out of 164 seats it contested. Shanmugam accused Palaniswami of seeking an arrangement with the DMK to prevent Vijay from forming the government.“We faced defeat in the recently concluded elections. Not only in the recently concluded elections, but in the last elections also we faced defeat.” “We asked our General Secretary to convene a General Council meeting to discuss the reasons for these election defeats and take further action in the interest and development of the party.”He said, “Some people proposed that we, as the AIADMK legislature party, should form the government with the support of the DMK. This proposal is against the founding principles of our party because the AIADMK was founded to uproot the DMK, which we consider an evil force in Tamil Nadu.”This allegation has become politically significant as the AIADMK was established as the major rival of the DMK, making any potential understanding between the two parties highly controversial within the party ranks.A rebel faction led by former ministers SP Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam publicly supported the Vijay government and elected Velumani as leader of its legislature party. Shanmugam said it was necessary to support Vijay to revive the “Amma regime” associated with former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.“He (Palaniswamy) wanted to form the government with the support of the DMK,” Shanmugam alleged.“The people’s mandate is not for TVK, it is for Chief Minister Vijay,” he said. The language from the rebel camp has fueled speculation that some sections of the AIADMK see Vijay as the political heir to the emotional mass politics once represented by MGR and Jayalalithaa.

A whip binding all party MLAs

Meanwhile, the AIADMK leadership attempted to stop the rebellion by issuing a whip before the floor test. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP IS Imbadurai warned that any MLA violating the official whip could be disqualified under the anti-defection law.Sharing a post on Twitter, Inabadurai said the whip issued under AIADMK general secretary and legislature party leader Edappadi K Palaniswami will be binding on all party MLAs.However, the DMK denied reports of any post-poll pact with the AIADMK and said it would sit in the opposition. Political observers believe that the DMK may benefit from the ongoing infighting in the AIADMK.Earlier this week, Vijay delivered his maiden speech in the Assembly and said the House should act as both the “heart and brain” of democracy. He said every party, regardless of its strength, deserves equal respect inside the Assembly.“Here, everyone is equal. Even parties represented by a single member in this House should give equal importance to their views along with those expressed by the members of the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam, who have a larger mandate,” Vijay said.He said, “Good suggestions should be accepted and inappropriate suggestions should be rejected. This Assembly should serve as both the heart and brain of democracy.”