Vijay sails through Tamil Nadu trust vote with 144 MLAs amid DMK walkout
With the backing of at least 25 AIADMK faction MLAs led by Shanmugam and SP Velumani, Vijay comfortably crossed the majority mark in the trust vote despite one supporting legislator being barred by the Madras High Court from participating in the floor test.
Chief Minister Vijay on Wednesday passed the confidence motion in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly with flying colours, securing the support of 144 MLAs -- well above the majority mark of 118. The vote took place amid high political drama, with DMK and DMDK legislators walking out of the House, while four PMK MLAs and one BJP legislator abstained.
The rival AIADMK camp led by “rebel” leaders Shanmugam and SP Velumani, which has the backing of 30 out of the party’s 47 MLAs, also extended support to Vijay, bringing the internal split within the party into the open and catching many by surprise.
Going by the numbers, at least 25 MLAs from the AIADMK faction voted in favour of the Chief Minister. Vijay already had the support of 120 MLAs, minus one legislator who had won by a margin of a single vote and was barred by the Madras High Court from participating in Wednesday’s trust vote.
Apart from Vijay’s party, which emerged as the single largest, the TVK government received support from five Congress MLAs and eight legislators from the Left parties, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League. MLA S Kamaraj, expelled from the TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK, an NDA constituent, was among those who voted in favour of the government. He assured support to the government for "five years."
The number of legislators present and voting dropped following the walkout by the DMK, which has a strength of 57 MLAs, along with the abstention of five MLAs. Only 22 legislators from the EPS camp voted against the TVK government.
Now that the dust over the trust vote has settled, the bigger question is the split within the AIADMK, with 25 MLAs breaking ranks. Defying AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami’s directive, the rebel legislators signalled where their loyalties now lie, leaving EPS with only 22 MLAs in his camp.
However, to bypass the anti-defection law and formally merge with the TVK, the rebel camp would need the support of at least two-thirds of the AIADMK legislature party -- 31 of its 47 MLAs -- a mark it still falls short of.
Amid allegations of horse-trading from the EPS camp on the floor of the House, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay said his government was moving at “horse speed”.
While the government functioned with “horse speed”, it did not engage in horse-trading, he asserted.
Replying to the discussion in the State Assembly on the confidence motion moved by him, Vijay said his government would always remain secular and continue implementing welfare schemes launched by previous regimes.
Chief Minister Vijay on Wednesday passed the confidence motion in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly with flying colours, securing the support of 144 MLAs -- well above the majority mark of 118. The vote took place amid high political drama, with DMK and DMDK legislators walking out of the House, while four PMK MLAs and one BJP legislator abstained.
The rival AIADMK camp led by “rebel” leaders Shanmugam and SP Velumani, which has the backing of 30 out of the party’s 47 MLAs, also extended support to Vijay, bringing the internal split within the party into the open and catching many by surprise.
Going by the numbers, at least 25 MLAs from the AIADMK faction voted in favour of the Chief Minister. Vijay already had the support of 120 MLAs, minus one legislator who had won by a margin of a single vote and was barred by the Madras High Court from participating in Wednesday’s trust vote.
Apart from Vijay’s party, which emerged as the single largest, the TVK government received support from five Congress MLAs and eight legislators from the Left parties, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League. MLA S Kamaraj, expelled from the TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK, an NDA constituent, was among those who voted in favour of the government. He assured support to the government for "five years."
The number of legislators present and voting dropped following the walkout by the DMK, which has a strength of 57 MLAs, along with the abstention of five MLAs. Only 22 legislators from the EPS camp voted against the TVK government.
Now that the dust over the trust vote has settled, the bigger question is the split within the AIADMK, with 25 MLAs breaking ranks. Defying AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami’s directive, the rebel legislators signalled where their loyalties now lie, leaving EPS with only 22 MLAs in his camp.
However, to bypass the anti-defection law and formally merge with the TVK, the rebel camp would need the support of at least two-thirds of the AIADMK legislature party -- 31 of its 47 MLAs -- a mark it still falls short of.
Amid allegations of horse-trading from the EPS camp on the floor of the House, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay said his government was moving at “horse speed”.
While the government functioned with “horse speed”, it did not engage in horse-trading, he asserted.
Replying to the discussion in the State Assembly on the confidence motion moved by him, Vijay said his government would always remain secular and continue implementing welfare schemes launched by previous regimes.
