The four-day-old Tamil Nadu government led by C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday comfortably won the trust vote in the Assembly by a margin of 144:22, overcoming questions over its stability amid a walkout by the principal opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and visible divisions within the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
In the 234-member House, the simple majority mark stands at 118.
While AIADMK MLAs loyal to party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami voted against the government, a rebel faction led by senior leaders S P Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam backed the TVK administration.
The BJP’s lone MLA remained neutral, while NDA ally PMK, which has four MLAs, abstained from voting.
The trust vote victory comes as a major boost for the fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government, which had faced scrutiny over its numbers in the Assembly. The win is expected to provide political stability to the new administration, even as portfolios are yet to be allocated to ministers, including the chief minister.
As per Assembly norms, another floor test is unlikely to be held within the next six months.
The Vijay-led government secured support from the Congress, VCK, Left parties, AMMK and the rebel AIADMK faction. Soon after the House convened at 9.30 am, Vijay moved the confidence motion, following which members from various parties participated in the discussion.
Speaker JCD Prabhakar later announced the results after division-wise voting, stating that 144 MLAs voted in favour of the motion, while 22 opposed it and five maintained a neutral stand.
The DMK, which has 59 MLAs in the Assembly, staged a walkout before the voting process began.
Independent MLA S Kamaraj, who was expelled from the TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK, also voted in favour of the government.
Replying to the debate on the confidence motion, Vijay said his government would remain secular and continue welfare schemes introduced by previous governments.
“Our government functions with horse-speed, but it does not engage in horse-trading,” the chief minister remarked during his speech.
The floor test was conducted in line with directions issued by Governor R V Arlekar, who had asked the government to prove its majority on or before May 13.
The ruling TVK effectively had a strength of 107 MLAs, including the Speaker who did not vote. In addition, the party’s Tirupattur MLA R Seenivasa Sethupathy was barred from participating in the trust vote following a High Court order linked to a recount plea filed by a defeated DMK candidate.
The Congress’ five MLAs had already extended support to the government, while CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML — with two MLAs each — had also announced outside support earlier.
The backing of nearly 30 rebel AIADMK MLAs further strengthened the government’s position, despite warnings from the Palaniswami camp that anti-defection laws could be invoked against those voting against the party line.
