Fear of President’s rule, ‘BJP by backdoor’: How Vijay got the support he needed
When Tamil Nadu’s election results came in on May 4, Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had won 108 seats in a 234-member Assembly — the single largest mandate, but short of the majority. What followed was five days of negotiations in which every party that eventually backed Vijay did so citing not confidence in his leadership as such, but the fear of what would happen without it. Vijay meets Governor a fourth time. (Tamil Nadu Lok Bhavan/ANI Video ) That fear had two faces: President’s Rule, and the Centre’s ruling BJP. This, even when the BJP has a grand total of one seat in the new, 17th Tamil Nadu assembly. Legal spectre: Article 356 When no party can demonstrate a majority in a state assembly, the Governor may recommend to the President that the state cannot be governed constitutionally. Under Article 356 of the Constitution, the President can then impose central rule, dissolving or suspending the state assembly and placing the state under direct governance from New Delhi. In Tamil Nadu, with its fierce tradition …
-1778311755766_d.png "Speculation over President’s rule grows amid Tamil Nadu govt formation deadlock")
