Actor Vijay and Tamil Nadu Governor RV Arlekar will meet at 4.30 pm – for a third time in as many days – to try and resolve a continuing deadlock over the formation of the next government.
Sources suggest Vijay finally has the numbers to stake claim, with five from the Congress and two each from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Communist Party of India taking it past the majority mark of 118 seats.
The two met on Wednesday and Thursday too. Both times Arlekar dismissed Vijay’s claim to form the government, arguing the TVK leader does not have the required support in the House.
Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam swept last month’s election; the party won 108 of 234 seats on its electoral debut to break Dravidian giants DMK and AIADMK’s 62-year chokehold on the state.
But the TVK fell 10 short of the majority mark.
In Thursday’s meeting Governor Arlekar posed a series of questions to Vijay, including ‘how will you run a government with only 113 MLAs’ and ‘what other parties will be supporting you?’
Vijay’s answers failed to satisfy Arlekar.
The TVK’s close-but-no-cigar result has triggered a high-stakes, cat-and-mouse game.
Vijay’s party quickly added the Congress’ five seats to its tally – offered on condition the Tamil party will not ally with ‘communal forces’, a reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
But the drama was over support from the VCK and the two Left parties, both of whom had allied with the DMK ahead of the election.