TVK reaches out to Left parties, seeks support in govt formation 

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam sought support from Left parties to form the Tamil Nadu government after emerging as the single largest party. TVK leader CTR Nirmal Kumar said power-sharing was essential and asserted that Vijay should be invited to form the government

Chennai: TVK leader CTR Nirmal Kumar on Thursday called on CPI state secretary M Veerapandian and CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam and sought their support in forming a government, emphasising a share in power. The TVK joint general secretary personally visited the Left party offices here and handed over the letters requesting their support on behalf of the party.

The Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam lacks a simple majority to form the government on its own.
Kumar pointed out that TVK founder Vijay had already stated that there must be a share in governance and power, as well. “Only then can the parties implement their respective ideologies and policies,” he said, and added that “TVK is under no pressure at the moment.” TVK had already mailed its request to the Left parties, VCK and IUML, and had formally handed over the letters from Vijay, he said, and exuded confidence that TVK would form the government. “The parties have sought time to respond to our request,” Kumar told reporters emerging out of the meeting with Veerapandian.

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Asked if TVK has reached out to the NDA, he replied, “We have not asked and don’t intend to.” The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member strong Tamil Nadu Assembly in the recently held elections. It needs 10 more seats to form a government. The Congress has already extended support to TVK. Kumar said that as per the law, the Governor must invite the single largest party to form the government.

“The people have voted for TVK, and he must certainly invite us. We have already staked our claim to form the government, and we will wait for a day,” he said. With the people of the state providing a mandate to the TVK, Vijay should become the chief minister, he said.