The CPI(M) on Friday defended its decision to back actor-politician Vijay in the post-poll government formation battle in Tamil Nadu, with party general secretary MA Baby claiming that the DMK had itself explored the idea of supporting an AIADMK-led government from outside.
In an interview with India Today TV, MA Baby said the CPI(M), CPI and VCK chose to support the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) because the people’s verdict had clearly favoured Vijay‘s party and because there were concerns that the BJP was trying to “manipulate” the mandate through the Governor’s office.
“The verdict of the Tamil Nadu people was very clear. It was in favour of TVK. Vijay’s TVK turned out to be the single largest party, short of only a few seats to cross the halfway mark for a majority,” Baby said.
Arguing that constitutional convention required the single largest party to be invited first, he drew a parallel with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee being invited to form the government in 1996 despite lacking majority numbers initially.
“That was the practice followed when the BJP was the single largest party in the Lok Sabha. Vajpayee ji was invited, and he remained Prime Minister for 13 days,” Baby said.
His remarks came as the drama surrounding the Tamil Nadu government formation continues. Initially, Vijay got the backing of the Left and Congress along with the VCK and later the IUML as well. However, after the actor-politician’s meeting with Governor Rajendra Arlekar for the third time in three days, it turned out that Vijay had only presented 116 signatures, still two short of the majority, as the VCK’s and IUML’s letters were not yet in. Then came another twist, the VCK demanded the Deputy CM’s post for party chief, Thol Thirumavalavan, but TVK rejected and agreed to give the Urban Affairs Ministry. The IUML also denied support to Vijay.
Sources told India Today that Vijay will take oath tomorrow at 11 am, but uncertainty regarding the majority mark looms.
According to Baby, the Left parties decided to intervene because they believed the BJP and RSS were attempting to prevent the single largest party from assuming office.
“To prevent the BJP from interfering with the people’s verdict in Tamil Nadu, we CPM, CPI and VCK together have extended support. Once we extend support, the Tamil Nadu Governor has no option but to invite Joseph Vijay, the leader of TVK,” he said.
Calling the situation “extraordinary”, the CPI(M) leader said the party’s support to TVK should not be interpreted as an attempt to form a new political front against the DMK, but rather as a move to “defend secularism, defend federalism, and also defend the essence of the people’s verdict”.
In his sharpest remarks, however, Baby revealed that the DMK leadership had discussed the possibility of backing an AIADMK-led arrangement from outside after the fractured verdict.
“Our Tamil Nadu leaders had meetings with Mr Stalin. The idea was being discussed that DMK would support a government led by AIADMK and DMK wished that we should also support such an arrangement,” he said.
“DMK told us that they were in favour of supporting an AIADMK government from outside. They wanted us to follow the same approach,” Baby added.
The CPI(M) leader said his party was unwilling to accept such a political line because the AIADMK had been defeated in the election.
“AIADMK was defeated in the election. DMK was also defeated. We were part of the DMK front, so we also lost. In this particular case, we are not forming the government. We are extending support to the single largest party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly,” he said.
MA Baby also confirmed that Vijay had formally reached out to the Left parties and VCK seeking support after the fractured mandate.
“Mr Vijay wrote to CPM, CPI and VCK. Our parties discussed the matter independently and also mutually. Then it was decided that we would communicate our stand to Mr. MK Stalin,” he said.
He stressed that the CPI(M) was not breaking ties with the DMK entirely despite the disagreement over government formation.
“We are not saying that we are going to oppose DMK, but we cannot accept the political line of supporting AIADMK,” he said.
The dramatic realignment in Tamil Nadu has also triggered wider tremors within the INDIA bloc, particularly after Congress walked out of the DMK-led alliance and backed Vijay without wider consultations with several Opposition allies.
The DMK, once among the strongest advocates of Opposition unity under the INDIA banner, has reacted sharply to the Congress’s move, while several regional parties have privately expressed concern over the deepening rift within the anti-BJP camp.
The trigger of this rift was the May 4 Assembly results, which threw up a fractured verdict, with TVK emerging as the single largest party but falling short of the halfway mark. Governor Arlekar had initially declined to invite Vijay to form the government, saying he had not demonstrated majority support.
The decision sparked protests by TVK workers and criticism from Congress and Left parties, which argued that Vijay should have been given an opportunity to prove his majority on the Assembly floor.
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