How Vijay wrote the perfect trust vote script with little opposition

Vijay won the Tamil Nadu floor test with 144 votes, drawing support beyond the TVK alliance. The result exposed splits within the AIADMK and highlighted his outreach to opposition parties.

In Short

• TVK receives support beyond alliance as 25 AIADMK MLAs back Vijay
• AMMK MLA S Kamaraj reverses stand and voted for TVK
• AIADMK's internal rift surfaced as SP Velumani backed Vijay

After a week-long drama in Tamil Nadu, the climax turned out to be smooth sailing for Vijay as he aced the floor test with flying colours. The irony was hard to miss. For three straight days, the Tamil Nadu Governor denied Vijay a shot at forming a government, expressing doubts over TVK's support in the assembly. However, when the numbers were finally tested on the floor of the House, Vijay not only proved the majority with ease, but also secured backing beyond his own alliance.

The final numbers told their own story - 144 MLAs backed Vijay's TVK, while only 22 voted against him. It was comfortably above the 118 mark that the Governor had asked Vijay to prove by April 13. To put it in perspective, in a 232-member House (we will explain why), just 22 MLAs stood in opposition to him.

So, here is the final math behind the 144 MLAs who voted for Vijay: 105 (TVK) + 25 (rebel AIADMK faction) + 5 (Congress) + 4 (Left) + 2 (IUML) + 2 (VCK) + 1 (AMMK) = 144.

HOW VIJAY WON ASSEMBLY FLOOR TEST?

Tamil Nadu politics has rarely witnessed such overwhelming support for a party that is barely two years old and led by a newbie. But that is the kind of pull Thalapathy Vijay seems to command.

It is, however, nothing new. Tamil Nadu has always been a theatre that has seen the fusion of politics with cinema, starting from the times of M Karunanidhi and M.G. Ramachandran.

When Vijay, decked in a white shirt, dark trousers, and a blazer, walked into the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday for the floor test, his body language and calm demeanour indicated that the battle had already been won. But did he expect the support of 144 MLAs? That only Vijay will be able to tell.

So, how did it unfold in the assembly? The Tamil Nadu Assembly has 234 seats. But here, we have to exclude Vijay's Trichy East constituency, which he chose to vacate after winning from two seats, and also the Speaker's vote. Moreover, one TVK MLA, R. Seenivasa Sethupathi, was restrained by the Madras High Court from voting in the floor test (this order was later paused by the Supreme Court).

Considering these factors, the effective strength of the House was down to 231. The halfway mark was 116.

The TVK won 108 seats in the elections. Now, with the above-mentioned deletions, TVK's strength is reduced to 105. The Congress, which severed ties with the DMK, extended support with 5 MLAs.

The Left parties together backed Vijay, adding four more to the alliance's kitty. The VCK and the IUML, with two MLAs each, also extended support. This alone took Vijay's tally to 118. So far, the Assembly proceedings worked as per the script.

THE SUPPORTING CAST

Then came the supporting cast.

AMMK MLA S Kamaraj, who just days ago alleged that his signature on a letter supporting Vijay was forged, made a dramatic U-turn and backed the TVK on the floor of the House. "The youth of the state trust Vijay. I, too, trust him," Kamaraj said.

Kamaraj was later expelled by AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran.

Then came the AIADMK twist, which laid bare the rift within the party. Two factions emerged in the AIADMK, which won 47 seats.

Speaking in the assembly, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami said the party would not support Vijay's TVK, alleging that attempts were being made to lure MLAs with offers of ministerial posts.

There was some drama and protests by the Palaniswami faction when rebel group leader SP Velumani was invited by the Speaker to address the House. Velumani and 24 of the AIADMK MLAs voted for Vijay in the floor test, exposing deep divisions within the party.

On Tuesday, it was believed that the faction led by Velumani and Shanmugam enjoyed the support of 30 MLAs. However, some seem to have sided with Palaniswami at the last minute after he threatened them with disqualification.

This means that the Velumani-led bloc doesn't have the support of 2/3rds of MLAs needed to avoid action under the anti-defection law.

Meanwhile, the Anbumani Ramadoss-led PMK, which has four MLAs, and the BJP, with its single legislator, abstained from voting.

The DMK, despite its scathing criticism of Vijay on the floor of the House, did not vote against the TVK and instead walked out during voting. It further reduced the strength of the House, bringing down the majority mark further.

After all, the smaller parties in Vijay's coalition government were previously aligned with the DMK. Apart from the Congress, the Left, VCK and IUML still swear allegiance to Stalin. Thus, voting against the TVK coalition would have been bad optics for the DMK.

WHAT WORKED FOR VIJAY?

So, what worked for Vijay that saw only 22 votes against the TVK?

The answer was provided by DMDK general secretary and MLA Premalatha Vijayakanth in the assembly. Even though the DMDK abstained, Premalatha praised Vijay's inclusive approach towards opposition parties.

In a display of political maturity, Vijay, just a day after taking oath as Chief Minister, met DMK's Stalin as well as leaders of smaller parties like PMK and MDMK.

"The Chief Minister did not see opposition parties as enemy parties. The CM has met everyone. Leaders, the people of Tamil Nadu, as well as party cadres, gave him a grand welcome, and we appreciate his act," Premalatha said.

The developments in the floor test in the Assembly spoke volumes about Vijay's charisma. It may have led the TVK to form its first government in Tamil Nadu. But charisma alone won't be enough to run a state. Floor test done, the real test for Vijay begins now.

- Ends