Congress MP KC Venugopal said on Tuesday that actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam had requested support from the party to form the government in Tamil Nadu.
The Congress leadership had directed the party’s Tamil Nadu unit to decide on the request “keeping in view the sentiments of the state reflected in the electoral verdict”, added Venugopal.
On Monday, the TVK, on its electoral debut, emerged as the single-largest party in the Tamil Nadu elections, winning 108 seats.
However, the Vijay-led party fell short of the majority mark of 118 seats in the 234-member Assembly. Hence, it requires the support of other parties to form the government.
The Congress, which fought the elections in an alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, won five seats. The MK Stalin-led DMK won 59.
The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which were also part of the Secular Progressive Alliance along with the DMK and Congress, won two seats each.
The National Democratic Alliance, mainly comprising the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the BJP, won 53 seats.
On Tuesday, Venugopal said that the Congress was clear the electors in Tamil Nadu had voted for a secular government, “committed to protecting the constitution in letter and spirit”.
“The Congress is determined not to have the BJP and proxies run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner,” the MP added.
As the results for the Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu had become clear, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a social media post that he had congratulated Vijay on “TVK’s spectacular result”.
“This mandate reflects the rising voice of youth which cannot, and will not, be ignored,” said Gandhi.
Vijay thanked Gandhi on Tuesday and said that “we shall remain committed to excellence in public service, and preserving the cultural ethos of our state, which requires collective cooperation”.
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