Congress MP Karti Chidambaram. (Express Archive)
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has said that Chief Minister Vijay should not induct legislators from the AIADMK “splinter group” into the Tamil Nadu government, arguing that “it will erode his goodwill and credibility.”
AIADMK MLAs CV Shanmugham and SP Velumani led a breakaway faction of rebel MLAs against party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), voting in favour of the confidence motion moved by Vijay on Wednesday. Twenty-five legislators from the rebel faction voted in favour of the TVK founder during the floor test, while 22 MLAs, including EPS, voted against.
“Chief Minister Vijay does not need the support of any splinter group of the AIADMK. In fact, the mandate is for a government which excludes both the AIADMK and the DMK. He must stick true to that mandate and ignore the splinter group of the AIADMK,” said Chidambaram whose party contested the polls under the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance and won five seats.
“There is no reason for him to bring them into government. If they voluntarily supported him in the vote of confidence, so be it…in fact, I will urge him not to bring them into government. It will erode his good will and credibility if he brings any of the earstwhile AIADMK ministers into government,” he said.
“It’s up to the Chief Minister to allot the number of ministries to the Congress party,” he added.
Following the Assambly elections, the TVK emerged as the largest party in the 234-seat Assembly with 108 members, but was 10 seats short of the majority mark. The Congress switched over from the DMK-led front with five seats. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), CPI(M) and CPI offered support with two seats each.
The ruling DMK was reduced to 74 from 159 seats it had won in 2021 elections. The AIADMK managed to win 47 seats, dropping from 66 it won in 2021.
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