Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s office said TVK chief Vijay had not established the required majority support in the Tamil Nadu Assembly
May 7, 2026: The office of Rajendra Arlekar on Thursday defended its decision not to invite Vijay and his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to form the government in Tamil Nadu. The clarification came after Vijay met the Governor for the second time in two days to reiterate his claim that TVK, as the single largest party, should be called to form the government. In an official statement, the Governor’s office said the “requisite majority support” needed in the Assembly had not yet been established.
TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, falling 10 short of the majority mark, though it also secured support from five Congress MLAs. Legal expert Vijayan Subramanian argued that the Governor should have invited Vijay immediately and allowed the majority to be tested on the Assembly floor. Referring to the landmark S. R. Bommai vs Union of India case, he said the Supreme Court had clearly ruled that majority should be determined through a floor test and not by the Governor’s subjective assessment.
Several political leaders also supported TVK’s demand to form the government. Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty warned that delaying the process could weaken public faith in democracy, while CPI(M) state secretary P. Shanmugam accused the BJP of influencing constitutional processes for political gains. Meanwhile, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai questioned why TVK had not openly challenged the Governor’s actions. BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy defended the Governor, saying constitutional procedures would be followed since no party had secured a clear majority. Senior journalist SP Stalin claimed TVK’s alliance with Congress may have triggered resistance from the BJP and contributed to the delay in the swearing-in process.