Chennai, May 6: The Congress on Thursday formally announced its full support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and its chief Vijay in forming the next government in Tamil Nadu.
Vijay's TVK delivered an outstanding performance in its debut elections, outperforming Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)'s years-long monopoly.
The letter undersigned by Tamil Nadu Congress in charge, Girish Chodankar, emphasised that the people of the state delivered a "very clear, strong and overwhelming" verdict to TVK, led by Vijay.
"Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has decided to extend its full support to the TVK to form the government," the letter stated.
The Congress, however, asserted that its support will be unconditional to the TVK as long as it keeps any "communal forces" out of this alliance.
"Our support shall be conditional upon the TVK keeping out of this alliance any communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution of India," the party said.
"This alliance between the TVK and the Tamil Nadu Congress will strive to bring back Perunthalaivar Kamaraj's glory days of Tamil Nadu, with a strong commitment to Thanthai Periyar's social justice ideals and Dr. B R Ambedkar's constitutional ideals in the years and decades to come," it said.
The Congress also mentioned that the alliance with TVK will not only be limited to the government formation in Tamil Nadu but also for future elections, including the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
"This alliance -- founded on mutual respect, appropriate share, and shared responsibility between the two parties -- is not only for the formation of this government, but also for future elections to the local body organisations, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha," the party said.
"Mr. Vijay and Shri Rahul Gandhi jointly pledge to respect this historic verdict of the people of Tamil Nadu for a secular and progressive government, and to fulfil the dreams and promises of the people --especially the youth of Tamil Nadu," it said.
TVK, which stands at 108 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly and is just 10 short of the 118 halfway majority mark, is more likely to ally with smaller parties like the Congress and the Left Front.
However, Vijay still needs five more seats to form a government. Vijay could also abandon the Congress in favour of the AIADMK, which has significantly more seats. The Congress' long association with the DMK is not helping its case despite its leaders itching to ally with Vijay.
Notably, Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has confirmed to ANI that he will meet TVK chief Vijay on Wednesday evening after TVK claimed that they have the majority to form the government. (ANI)
