TVK founder Vijay went to the Lok Bhavan on Thursday for a second time in 24 hours to meet the Governor in connection with his request to be invited to form the government with the support the Congress party, even as the BJP asserted that Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar will go by the rule book on the matter. While Vijay went to the Lok Bhavan, there was no immediate word from officials or the TVK on whether he met Arlekar and if the TVK founder had been invited to form the government or not. In his second visit to the Lok Bhavan within 24 hours, the TVK chief was inside the Governor's House for about 40 minutes before he was seen leaving the premises. The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly in the April 23 polls and emerged as the single largest party. Though the Congress party, which has five MLAs, has extended support to TVK, the actor-politician-led party was still short of as many seats to touch the magic number of 118, the majority mark in the 200-plus member House.
On Wednesday, Vijay submitted the letter of support from the Congress party to the governor and staked claim. However, Arlekar is yet to take a decision on the matter, according to official sources. To a question on swearing-in and government formation, TVK leader VS Babu told reporters: "Let us see, this will happen soon and let us see what the next is". When asked about the alleged pressure from the Centre, he said he would not comment on matters over which he had no idea. "I will not talk about things that I do not know." Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathy claimed that everything will happen in a democratic way vis-a-vis government formation. "I don't think there is any confusion with Raj (Lok) Bhavan or the governor. He (governor) will go by the constitution. He will go by rule book", the BJP leader told PTI Videos. "The way the people have cast their votes reflects this outcome. Consequently, the electorate has voted in such a way that no single party has secured an absolute majority", he added. Narayanan Tirupathy said, "according to our constitutional framework, the party that secures the highest number of seats specifically, more than half of the total and got the necessary support or backing is entitled to form the government. However, unfortunately, in this instance, no party has secured a majority". "I believe this is precisely the reason for the current confusion and they (Lok Bhavan) were taking the necessary time," he said. "If other parties come forward to express their support for Vijay, a stable governance will be established in Tamil Nadu," he added.