Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government on Wednesday won the trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, securing the backing of alliance partners Congress, VCK, left parties along with support from the AIADMK rebel faction led by SP Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam.
Soon after the House convened, Chief Minister Vijay moved the confidence motion and members from various parties participated in the discussion on the resolution.
Speaker JCD Prabhakar, after conducting a division-wise vote, announced that the motion had been carried with 144 MLAs voting in favour of the government, 22 opposing it, while five members, including those from the PMK and BJP, remained neutral.
The principal opposition party, the DMK as well as lone DMDK MLA Premalatha Vijayakanth, staged a walkout ahead of the voting process, alleging that the trust vote was politically motivated and unnecessary.
The support extended by the AIADMK rebel faction was seen as a significant political development, signalling shifting equations within the opposition space. MLA S Kamaraj, who was expelled from the AMMK, was also among those who voted in favour of the government.
The CM thanked those who have voted in support of his government and later shook hands with all TVK MLAs and the 25 MLAs of the AIADMK.
As the Speaker ordered a head count of those who were in support, opposition and those who remained neutral, the Assembly Secretary rang the quorum bell thrice and all the entrances to the Assembly hall were closed. The Speaker ordered that all members in the House should remain in their seats.