Troubles for the newly elected Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Chandrasekaran Joseph Vijay, do not seem to be ending as his ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), has threatened to withdraw support from the state government. The party said that it would reconsider its support for the state government if CM Vijay inducts the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLAS in the state cabinet.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, in Thiruthuraipoondi in Tiruvaur district, CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam said that his party would reconsider its support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government if their demand is not met. He said that the Left parties extended their support to Vijay’s party to prevent the “backdoor entry” of the BJP through Governor’s rule.
“We believe that the Chief Minister will not take such a decision. But if AIADMK MLAs or any of its factions are accommodated in the ministry, we will reconsider our support to the government,” Shanmugam said. “Including AIADMK legislators in the cabinet would go against the people’s mandate. Voters rejected both the AIADMK and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alliances in the election,” he added.
CPI-M statement comes after 25 of the 47 AIADMK MLAs supported Vijay on the floor of the Assembly ahead of the trust vote on 11th May, contrary to their party’s whip directions. The remaining 22 AIADMK MLAs led by party chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) opposed the floor test. This gave rise to the speculations that some of the 25 AIADMK MLAs could be included by Vijay in the state cabinet. Palaniswami accused the 25 MLAs of supporting Vijay’s government in expectation of ministerial posts. The MLAs were later removed from their party posts.
Vijay’s party, TVK, faced a tough time in securing the necessary majority after emerging as the largest party in the recent Assembly elections. TVK secured 108 seats in the elections, while 118 seats were required to form a government. Vijay was finally able to form the government after the support from the Congress Party, which has 5 MLAs, the CPI(M), the Communist Party of India (CPI), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which have two MLAs each in the Assembly.
While Congress, which won five seats, aligned with the TVK, the Communist Party of India (CPI), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which also have two MLAs each, are backing the government from outside.
The TVK allies issued official letters extending support to the government. But the AIADMK section didn’t issue any such statement, only 25 MLAs voted for the government during the confidence motion.
