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The post-election political landscape in Tamil Nadu remains uncertain as the TVK falls short of a clear majority, securing only one hundred and seven seats.
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00:07good evening you're watching news track with me maria shakiel the post
00:11mandate situation in tamil nadu is turning even more dramatic than the run-up to the polls
00:16vijay may have the mandate but not a decisive one and after the congress he is now reaching
00:21out to smaller parties to show up the numbers the congress is ready to back vijay but with
00:26conditions and with just 112 mlas in his kitty even the tamil nadu governor appears unconvinced
00:33sources tell india today that the vck and left parties could come on board by tomorrow if that
00:39happens actor vijay may well sail through but if they don't tamil nadu could be headed for more
00:47twists and turns and the signs are already visible sources in the aia dmk have told india today that
00:53the party has held talks with the dmk on government formation front so how realistic is this aia dmk
01:00dmk power play is this a pressure tactic or the beginning of a real deal the numbers are still
01:08being worked out narratives are being shaped and alliances remain fluid but the big question
01:13remains when will vijay finally take forth before i bring in the guests here's our report on all the
01:20these developments in his political debut vijay has delivered a blockbuster he has emerged as a true
01:37janan aigan a leader with a clear mandate but not a decisive one a mandate that still keeps him away
01:53from taking the oath immediately one that is compelling him to scramble for allies
02:03vijay is actively exploring alliance options to secure power
02:13the congress with its five mlas has offered support to vijay the grand old party says that
02:20by aligning with vijay it aims to keep communal forces out of power the congress party is also
02:27looking at this alliance as part of its strategy for the 2029 loksaba election
02:32we are not doing this only for power let's be very clear the mandate of the people is for change
02:37people have voted for a change they want a government which is which is which is not led by either
02:43the dmk
02:44or the admk the two political parties which have been heading government for the last 60 years
02:48they want the government to be headed by vijay they want a government to be headed by the tvk but
02:53they have also put a caveat they have said that they while they want the government to be headed
02:57by vijay they want him to go out and get a few other political parties to aid and assist him
03:04vijay has already taken steps towards government formation in tamil nadu
03:07he has met the governor staking claim to form the government
03:13sources tell india today that the tvk chief claimed support of 112 mlas
03:17however the governor has asked him to demonstrate support of 118 mlas for a clear majority
03:24the governor is also consulting legal experts on vijay's claim
03:31this brings us to the real issue the numbers came
03:34thalapati vijay is still short of the majority mark by six mlas
03:38dmk allies such as vck with two seats the left parties with four seats
03:44an ammk with one seat could potentially tilt the balance
03:48vck and the left parties are likely to come on board soon
03:53however speculation of an aidmk tvk tie-up appears to have been put to rest
04:00aidmk deputy general seki has ruled out any support to tvk informing the government
04:05stating that the party will not compromise its identity
04:11I will be asking for 242
04:13sorry for 252
04:132-3
04:14this is the tx
04:14this is the tx
04:14this is the tx
04:15there the tx
04:29where the tx
04:30in the mk
04:31this is the tx
04:46As Vijay continue their efforts to secure the numbers needed to form the government,
04:50preparations are underway at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai for a grand oath-taking ceremony.
04:57This is the location where we have seen some of the most iconic film releases, audio launch events.
05:03Now it's going to be used for a political swearing-in where the lines kind of blur between films and
05:08politics.
05:09Lots, lots lined up for you.
05:10The talapati of Tamil cinema becomes the talapati of Tamil Nadu.
05:15And it's right here that his journey will begin.
05:19The numbers are still being negotiated. The alliance is still fluid.
05:23But the question remains, when will Vijay finally take oath?
05:29With Akshita Nand Gopal, Pramod Madhav, Nagarjuna Dwarkanath, Bureau Report, India Today.
05:38Joining me first on the show is Congress Lok Sabha Whip and also Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu, Manikam
05:45Tagore.
05:46Mr. Tagore, let me begin by asking you what really is holding back Governor of Tamil Nadu?
05:52Because there's been no invitation that has been extended to Vijay to form the government, to take oath.
05:59The question is, what is it that the Congress is doing to ensure that he gets the numbers?
06:08The mandate is for Vijay.
06:10And we all know that the mandate is for change and for a secular government in Tamil Nadu.
06:16Therefore, the direction was very clear that the TVK got 108 numbers and they were short of 10.
06:24And Congress has, with five members, we had supported them.
06:29And now another five is needed and the left parties and other parties are in, they are also having their
06:37own discussion.
06:38In the meantime, we all know that the BJP's politics has started.
06:44BJP is having only one amendment.
06:46And they wanted to enter into Tamil Nadu's politics.
06:49They had been, they wanted to do that through the, using the Governor's office.
06:55Governor's office, we all know that, Sakarya Commission, all other presidents in Karnataka, Maharashtra, all have shown very clearly.
07:03When there is a single largest party, when they state claim, the Governor has to invite them and swearing in
07:14has to happen.
07:15Then they have to, floor test has to happen.
07:18Floor test is the test which has to decide appropriately.
07:20Why BJP is indulging in this politics, we don't know in Tamil Nadu.
07:24Why with one MLA, what politics they are doing it to stall a mandate is the issue.
07:30No, BJP's, this habit of stalling the mandates, manipulating the mandate is a problem.
07:36Tamil Nadu has rejected that and they have given only one MLA in Tamil Nadu for BJP.
07:40Again, they are continuing this attack.
07:41Why are you accusing the BJP of doing it?
07:44This is the Governor's office and the Governor is well within his constitutional right to seek clarity before he can
07:53invite Vijay for the swearing in ceremony.
07:55The question is that you may have extended support of your five MLA's, but he still needs MLA's to form
08:02the government.
08:04What kind of clarity?
08:05We need to understand that one party has won in 108 seats.
08:09It is the single largest party and it is short of 10 members and five more members have supported it.
08:16And you can give them three, four days, five, four, five days, one week time to prove their majority.
08:22It's not a government.
08:25Make the elected representatives, the leader of the party to take votes.
08:30Why you are denying without a government for the people of Tamil Nadu?
08:34The mandate is for Mr. Vijay.
08:36Why they are, BJP's behavioral problem is this thing.
08:39They are indulging in this kind of politics.
08:40We respect the Honourable Governor, but BJP is doing the backdoor politics.
08:47Therefore, only this constitution can start.
08:48But Vijay is still short of close to seven MLA's to reach the magic number.
08:55There are reports indicating that Rahul Gandhi is perhaps in touch with other political parties,
09:01the smaller political parties, to get numbers for Vijay.
09:05And he has also given some assurances to him.
09:09Is that really the fact that he, Rahul Gandhi is trying to onboard them?
09:13He is leading that thing.
09:15It is his government and he has wrote letters to Congress party.
09:19And yesterday when we had, when Congress President Kargei Saab asked the state unit to decide,
09:25we had a late night meeting for three hours and we decided.
09:28Therefore, every party, Mr. Vijay has wrote to the left parties also, BCK also, IUML also.
09:34But these four parties have been approached by Mr. Vijay.
09:37It is Mr. Vijay who is leading that thing.
09:40And we are, whenever it is asked, because his government is going to run it.
09:45Therefore, we want a secular government to be installed in Tamil Nadu.
09:48We don't want the entry of BJP through backdoor.
09:51That is the, on which we are working on it.
09:54And we are very clear that the, all the secular forces will unite in Tamil Nadu and form a government
10:00in Tamil Nadu.
10:01And will you be part of this government?
10:07We are very clear that the government, this mandate is for Mr. Vijay.
10:12Okay.
10:12And the mandate is for change.
10:14And it is for a secular government.
10:16Therefore, only we are again and again saying that the left parties and the BCK and other progressive left forces
10:23should always have some kind of rethink.
10:25And we should save Tamil Nadu from getting into this kind of difficulty.
10:30Coming to the ministerial positions and others, we need to first go through the floor tests.
10:35And we are very convinced that when floor tests are done and when we have a government in place, this
10:41can be negotiated and this can be settled.
10:44All right, Manikam, really appreciate your time.
10:47Thank you so much.
10:48Of course, there are several twists and turns that we are seeing.
10:50And amidst the suspense over magic number for Vijay, there seems to be some legal trouble for TVK chief over
10:572015 tax issue.
11:00Petitioner has moved Madras High Court seeking to register a cheating and money laundering case against CM-designate Vijay.
11:08The petition stems from a 2015 income tax search conducted during the release of the film Puli, which allegedly unearthed,
11:18unaccounted cash transactions.
11:21So some trouble coming in for actor Vijay.
11:25Who is this petitioner and why is this petition coming up right now?
11:30Very close to when he is going to be sown in as the next chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
11:35What does it actually mean?
11:36Let me bring in Lata Srinivasan, senior journalist joining us.
11:40We also have Kasturi Shankar, actress, activist.
11:44Lata Srinivasan, beginning with you, there seems to be some twist and turn.
11:49We are trying to understand when will Vijay be sown in as the chief minister, given the kind of mandate
11:55that he has been given by the people of Tamil Nadu.
11:59Hi, Maria.
12:00I think, you know, what we are seeing seems to be playing out like a movie, like what we see
12:08in cinema, right?
12:09He's been elected to power, but he's not yet become the chief minister because he has to prove his majority.
12:16And then there's another twist, you know, with the AADMK and DMK supposedly in talks, you know, to take on
12:24the TVK.
12:24So, there's so many things going on right now that it's a bit surprising, it's a bit shocking and everything
12:33is playing out very cinematically.
12:35But we hope to see Vijay, you know, take the chief minister's throne on Friday.
12:43That is what the people of Tamil Nadu who voted for him are hoping for.
12:47Yes, so, you know, Kasturi, this is a mandate for Vijay.
12:51For someone who founded this party in 2024, the people of Tamil Nadu have rejected DMK, AADMK, and have completely
13:02imposed their faith in him.
13:06Then why this delay?
13:07Do you think that there is some kind of restlessness also seeping in?
13:11That why is the governor also not inviting him for the oath?
13:18No, first of all, if the state of Tamil Nadu had reposed complete faith in Mr. Vijay, which all of
13:27us would have liked as an ideal situation, actually,
13:31then we wouldn't have this question at all today and we wouldn't be having this conversation at all.
13:36Because Mr. Vijay would have had 118 seats and that's the end of the story.
13:42But 108, he's just short of 10.
13:45I'm sure you understand that this is as great a mandate that any leader can get in his first, you
13:53know, very first election.
13:55No, no, no, no, no, Maria, I welcome Mr. Vijay's success as much as you do.
14:02That said, let's not get into hyperbole here because we have, this is a country which has seen Mr. Sri
14:10NTR's success, which was unequivocal.
14:13So, you know, it is not as much a victory as anybody can expect in their first outing.
14:20We have seen a Profila Kumar Mohanta storm into power in his very first election.
14:26So, let's not get into hyperbole.
14:28Let's not forget history.
14:30Let's just stick to the facts here.
14:33This is a governor who is a new incumbent in Tamil Nadu.
14:37He himself has not been there for a long time, number one.
14:41Number two, May 10th is the deadline to find a new cabinet of ministers for Tamil Nadu because that's when
14:49the DMK's term completely runs out.
14:52Number three, we've got 112 signatures and we are going to need to find six more.
15:01The reason the governor probably is hesitating is because of how the numbers have played out.
15:08When there are 73 seats in the second largest party, he is legally bound to explore all options before inviting
15:17the largest single party.
15:19Because if there is a viable chance, and I know that it's not going to happen, but it's a remote
15:27possibility.
15:28But theoretically, if there is a chance of the second largest party being able to muster up a government, then
15:35he has to wait and make sure that that is not the case.
15:40I think all of this will be a moot point tomorrow when Mr. Vijay gets the support of several other
15:47parties today.
15:49VCK seems to have given, sent out positive vibe.
15:51The communists are in the running.
15:54Anything can happen.
15:56You know, obviously, this has been a week where things all expect the unexpected seems to be the mantra of
16:03this week.
16:04So anything can happen.
16:05Okay.
16:05So really, we cannot, even if it was a deliberate delay as the conspiracy theory floated by Mr. Manikam Tagore,
16:14that delay cannot go beyond the 10th of May.
16:17So I don't think people are trying to drag their feet for three days, for 72 hours.
16:23It doesn't even make sense to anyone except somebody obsessed with the BJP, which is what the Congress is.
16:32I pity Mr. Manikam Tagore for resorting to such cheap conspiracy theories, which are quite unnecessary.
16:40Let him enjoy his dreams.
16:43He may become a minister or something.
16:45Amidst all these efforts that are being made by Vijay to get the number, you know, to cobble up support,
16:52there are reports coming in of some alleged conversation which has happened between AIA, DMK and DMK, which have so
17:00far in the state dominated the politics and have been at loggerheads with each other, completely polar opposite.
17:13Is that directed to me?
17:15Yes, Lata.
17:16Yes, Lata.
17:16Go ahead.
17:17See, right now, what has happened is that TVK has got the majority, like Astori also reiterated.
17:24And I think the governor should call him, you know, to prove his majority on the floor and give him
17:31the right to, you know, form the government.
17:33But given what has happened, you know, there is suddenly talk of the DMK and the ADMK in talks, you
17:41know, because they don't want the TVK to take on, you know, to form the government.
17:46This has shocked the people in Tamil Nadu, even if they are just rumors, because nobody can understand how two
17:53Dravidian parties, which have always been opposites at loggerheads with each other, could combine, could come together to, you know,
18:03to prevent somebody new coming into politics.
18:07I mean, is that what politics is all about? Vijay is a new entrant. TVK is a new entrant. He's
18:13just, you know, two years old. He's been given the people's mandate.
18:17How is this even constitutionally being allowed to happen? I think that's raising a lot of eyebrows and a lot
18:25of questions.
18:25And even legally, I don't think this, you know, this holds water because he should have been, you know, the
18:33governor should have called him to form the government.
18:36And I don't know, you know, there are talks of the governor stalling him, you know, tomorrow's oath-taking ceremony
18:43has been postponed.
18:45Why is this happening?
18:46There was no time that was given to say that a ceremony has been postponed may not be correct because
18:52the preparations are on, but no time has been fixed for the oath-taking ceremony.
18:58Absolutely. Maria, I agree with you. But, you know, in all understanding, it was like that he has the majority
19:04and therefore he would form the government and he would be invited to form the government.
19:08You know, he has 103, Emily's, 113, sorry, you know, Emily's on his side.
19:14But it was shocking that the governor, you know, did not do that.
19:19And there has been a delay.
19:22So, and there's also new talks of, you know, the ADMK and the DMK in talks, which has shocked people,
19:28like I'm saying.
19:29I think it's all over there on social media.
19:33Why isn't he being given an opportunity to form the government when he's got the people's mandate?
19:38I think that is most important.
19:40What is preventing them from, you know, allowing him to form the government?
19:44I don't think it's legally right, not constitutionally right.
19:47No, what the people, that is what the people of Tamil Nadu want when they voted for him.
19:52Okay.
19:52Lata, tell me, as someone who knows Vijay very, very closely, understands and reads his mind,
19:58what is he thinking right now, that he is in politics and this is what real politics is, when you
20:08are so close yet so far?
20:11Absolutely.
20:12But, Maria, please understand that, you know, Vijay is someone who wants to be chief minister,
20:17but he has always understood that there will be obstacles.
20:21Because even during numerous movie releases, whether it was Taleva, you know, where his movie was stalled
20:27and he had to go meet chief minister Jail Alta in order to ensure that the movie was released.
20:32He has had so many obstacles in his life because of politics, right?
20:36He has met Rahul Gandhi in 2009, if I'm not mistaken, where he went with his father
20:43and he was very impressed with Rahul Gandhi.
20:45So, he's had close connections with politics and he's faced obstacles.
20:51This is not new for him.
20:52But he also met Prime Minister Modi in 2014.
20:55Yeah, absolutely.
20:56He did meet Prime Minister Modi, though he does not align ideologically with the BJP.
21:02He has utmost respect for all the senior leaders in politics
21:06and that is very clear.
21:07But he stood for elections like any other person, you know, whether it was the DMK and the ADMK.
21:14He formed a political party and he was given the mandate by the people of Samundan.
21:19Yes, I tend to agree with you.
21:21Kasturi, one thing is clear that this mandate is not for DMK or EIA-DMK.
21:27ADMK, that they have been nearly decimated in this election.
21:31Even if they come together, that's actually not respecting the mandate of the people.
21:37Well, I think that would make a mockery of the democratic process.
21:41I definitely think there are rumours.
21:43There is no way ADMK and DMK would come together.
21:46That would defeat the entire purpose of the creation of the ADMK.
21:49I mean, as it is, people are laughing over the fact that Congress, which contested the polls
21:57with the DMK alliance and whatever votes they've gotten, whatever seats they've won,
22:02it includes DMK votes.
22:05These are supporters of the DMK who have voted for the Congress.
22:08And today, people are balking at the fact that they voted the DMK out of power and now somebody
22:15with DMK votes, with Congress votes, is coming and joining the government.
22:22That itself is a bitter pill to swallow for Tamil Nadu people.
22:26But we understand that, you know, there are a few seats missing, there are a few votes,
22:32MLA is missing, and nobody wants another election again.
22:36So, we kind of, you know, everybody is kind of processing the fact that now we have to,
22:43now Vijay has to sleep with the enemy.
22:46And everybody is kind of processing that fact.
22:49So, the whole thought of DMK and ADN.
22:53DMK?
22:54No, but he has got support from the Congress, not DMK.
22:58Well, Congress was sleeping with the DMK till yesterday.
23:01But now they have shifted their bedfellows to Vijay.
23:05So, we are just processing that right now.
23:08Except for the Congress, everybody else is still in a state of surprise, if not shock.
23:14The Congress, of course, everybody is trying to, they are now dreaming big.
23:19Everybody is trying to count their chickens.
23:21You know, Lata, this point that has been made is actually true.
23:24The Congress stood with the DMK and here, I mean, the DMK stood with the Congress,
23:29despite it not becoming, you know, almost like for last 11 years, it isn't really even a national force, right?
23:40Despite those political developments, the DMK has stood firmly with Rahul Gandhi.
23:46And here is the Congress ditching DMK, ending up its alliance and moving towards Act of Vijay.
23:54Is it because they believe in new brand of politics?
23:57If that was the case, then they should have aligned before the elections.
24:02I absolutely agree with you, Maria.
24:04I think, you know, the Congress should have aligned with TVK, you know, much ahead of the elections,
24:12rather than, you know, as an afterthought, once the DMK was defeated and now they see,
24:18this is a very opportunistic, you know, alliance.
24:21This is a Congress, yeah, to now jump ship and say, oh, you know, now that...
24:26We believe in your brand of politics.
24:28That has been the line that has been shared.
24:30So, Lata and Kasturi, really appreciate your time.
24:33Lovely to see both two phenomenal women that I immensely respect and have followed your work.
24:40So, thank you so much for joining us.
24:42We'll continue to track this story very, very closely.
24:44That's all from me.
24:45Thanks so much for watching.
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