CHENNAI: Less than ten days after actor-turned-politician Vijay took the oath of office as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, his newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government is facing an immediate stability crisis.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] has issued a stern ultimatum, threatening to “reconsider support” if any faction of the AIADMK is inducted into the ruling coalition.
The Mandate vs. Coalition Math
The political friction stems from a massive shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape following the assembly election results declared on May 4, which shattered the state’s traditional DMK-AIADMK binary.
However, the TVK fell short of a majority, triggering an intense race for numbers:
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The Shortfall: Vijay’s TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member assembly—falling 10 seats short of the crucial 118 majority mark.
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Outside Support: The government survived the May 13 trust vote with 144 votes, bolstered by the Congress (5 seats), the Left Front, VCK, and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
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The AIADMK Rebellion: Crucially, 24 AIADMK lawmakers defied their party chief E. Palaniswami (EPS) and a formal party whip to vote in favor of Vijay, exposing a massive vertical split within the main opposition party.
Why the Left is Threatening to Pull Out
The CPM’s objection comes on the heels of reports that Vijay held meetings with AIADMK rebel leaders, including EPS-rival C.V. Shanmugam, who expressed a readiness to back the TVK government.
The Left party laid down its terms clearly to the media:
Against the Mandate: The CPM stated that allowing any faction of the AIADMK into the government violates the people’s mandate, which explicitly rejected both the DMK and the AIADMK.
The Governance Promise: Involving the AIADMK would run counter to the TVK’s core campaign promise of delivering “clean governance.”
A Alliance of Convenience
The CPM made it clear that its current legislative backing is highly tactical rather than ideological. The party emphasized that it is lending outside support solely because Tamil Nadu is not prepared for an immediate re-election, and to prevent the BJP from exploiting the instability to impose Governor’s Rule.
While the Congress broke away from the DMK to back the TVK, smaller parties like the CPM and VCK maintain an uneasy balancing act—remaining allied with M.K. Stalin’s DMK while keeping Vijay’s minority government on life support.
