Congress supports Vijay’s TVK to form secular government in Tamil Nadu

New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to back TVK chief Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, according to sources.

The decision was taken at an urgent meeting of the party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) late Tuesday night, May 5. The meeting was convened by AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, and held via Zoom, where senior leaders reportedly voiced support for extending backing to the actor-turned-politician.

Sources said the PAC unanimously agreed to support Vijay in forming the government.

Earlier, the Congress had stated that Vijay had reached out seeking its support. The party leadership then asked the state unit to take a final call, keeping in mind the public mandate and sentiments in Tamil Nadu.

A separate meeting of senior Congress leaders was held at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, attended by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and others. After the meeting, general secretary K. C. Venugopal said the post-election scenario was discussed.

He reiterated that Congress believes the mandate in Tamil Nadu favours a secular government and that the party is determined to keep the BJP and its allies out of power.

In terms of numbers, TVK secured 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, falling short of the majority mark and requiring support from at least 10 more MLAs. Congress has five seats, PMK four, and both CPI and CPI(M) two each. The DMK won 59 seats, AIADMK 47, while BJP, DMDK and AMMK secured one seat each, and VCK won two.