(Image source from: Economictimes.indiatimes.com)
Thalapathy Vijay is secure, at least for now. The famous actor - who changed Tamil Nadu politics by leading his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to win in last month’s election, ending the 62-year dominance of the DMK and AIADMK in the state’s political scene - was announced on Wednesday as the new chief minister after a tense trust vote. Vijay had the support of 144 lawmakers, while 22 opposed him and five remained neutral. This followed the departure of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and its 59 legislators, with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's 47 members instructed to vote against him. “The whistle (which represents the TVK's election symbol) has changed history,” Vijay said after the results, completing his journey from film to politics. “We will refer to ourselves as a minority government… one that will protect minority rights. ” The trust vote was necessary since the TVK did not hold a majority after the results were released on May 4. Vijay’s party won 108 out of 234 seats - an impressive achievement for a newly formed party in a state dominated by two political parties - but fell 10 seats short of what was needed.
The TVK quickly gained backing from the Congress, which has five seats, and after four days of negotiation and suspense, obtained eight additional seats from the Left front, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and the Indian Union Muslim League. The TVK then had 105 MLAs; the party lost one vote to the Speaker’s position, a second because Vijay stepped down from one of the two seats he secured, and a third due to a challenge against Sreenivasa Sethupathy R's narrow win from Tiruppattur. Nonetheless, all 105 members showed up and cast their votes for Vijay. Allies providing external support - the Congress, CPI, CPM, VCK, and IUML - had pledged 13 seats among them and fulfilled that commitment. A 14th vote was received from the only MLA of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, led by TTV Dhinakaran. Consequently, allied votes brought the TVK’s total to 119 - a very slim winning margin. The additional support (which may not have been entirely unexpected) came from the two dozen lawmakers of the AIADMK.
On the opposing side, the 17 AIADMK MLAs still loyal to Palaniswami voted against Vijay, while four from the Pattali Makkal Katchi, aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition, and the BJP’s single MLA, remained neutral. The voting is decided, but the more significant issue is the division within the AIADMK.
So, 24 MLAs from the AIADMK voted for Vijay, and a 25th member (who is also thought to support TVK) chose not to vote, going against the instructions of party leader Edappadi K Palaniswami. This highlighted a growing conflict that could potentially split one of the major Dravidian parties in the state. The division became evident last week as the AIADMK scrambled for power and importance, as the party is struggling during a leadership crisis and has faced its fourth consecutive election loss. One group, led by CV Shanmugam, stayed at a resort in Puducherry demanding EPS, as Palaniswami is known, to show his backing for the TVK. While the party publicly claimed everything was fine, EPS's supporters stated that the Puducherry group was just taking precautions against TVK trying to lure them away, as the TVK was still looking for eight seats at that time. However, the Shanmugam faction was still dissatisfied. On Tuesday, those frustrations became public when news broke that a group of AIADMK MLAs, led by Shanmugam and senior leader SP Velumani, planned to meet with Vijay to show their support for him.
In his comments to the media, Shanmugam mentioned four election losses - three against the DMK and one against the TVK - as his motivation. He even hinted at a politically unusual idea - a partnership between the DMK and AIADMK to defeat Vijay. He also emphasized that he does not plan to break away from the party, which now leads to a significant internal struggle with EPS. The AIADMK took quick action; a lengthy post on X criticized the leaders who were breaking away, reminding everyone that they had been elected on the party's behalf. It also accused Shanmugam, Velumani, and another rebel leader of having sought minister positions from the TVK. The AIADMK was a dominant force in Tamil Nadu politics from 2006 to 2021 - guided by party icon and former chief minister J Jayalalitha - but lost ground after her passing in December 2016. The party won the 2016 election due to a huge wave of sympathy but fell short in the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as well as the 2021 Assembly election against the DMK. The losses from last month added to the leadership and survival challenges faced by EPS, who has been accused of focusing on his political benefits and those of his close circle rather than what is best for the party.
