Congress Says Vijay Sought Support To Form Tamil Nadu Government

The Congress on Tuesday claimed that TVK chief Vijay has sought the party's support in government formation in Tamil Nadu, and its leadership has directed the state unit to take a final decision on the matter.

Top Congress leaders held a meeting at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Tuesday evening. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi and Congress in-charge for Tamil Nadu state unit Girish Chodankar were among those present.

Following the meeting, Congress General Secretary, Organisation K C Venugopal, told the media that the party's Tamil Nadu unit has been instructed to make a final decision while taking the state's views as represented in the election results into consideration.

"Today we had a meeting to discuss the Tamil Nadu political situation. Basically, we discussed the post-election scenario in the meeting, which was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar.

"The President of TVK Thiru Vijay has requested the Congress for support to form a government in Tamil Nadu. INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit," he said.

According to Venugopal, the Congress is adamant about keeping the BJP and its representatives out of the Tamil Nadu administration.

He said Vijay has spoken about drawing inspiration from Kamaraj also.

"Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Thiru Vijay's request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state reflected in the electoral verdict," Venugopal told reporters.

In the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, Vijay's TVK secured 108 seats, missing the halfway point. To form a government with a simple majority, he needs the backing of ten MLAs.

The PMK has won four seats, while the Congress has won five. Each of the CPI and CPI-M has two seats.