CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday took a sharp dig at the Opposition DMK, saying that about 75% of the people had rejected the Dravidian major in the Assembly election. Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin fired back, accusing the CM of ducking the debate inside the House before issuing a statement from home.
In a post on X after the floor test, Vijay rejected Udhayanidhi’s claim in the Assembly that the TVK had not secured a majority. Citing Election Commission data, he claimed the TVK, which contested alone, secured 34.92% of votes, over 10 percentage points more than the DMK’s standalone vote share of 24.19%.
“In absolute numbers, the TVK polled 1.72 crore votes against the DMK’s 1.19 crore, a difference of nearly 53 lakh votes,” Vijay claimed. By the DMK’s own logic of counting rejected votes, he added, 3.68 crore people had rejected the DMK as a standalone party.
Responding to the DMK’s jibe about Vijay contesting in two constituencies, the CM pointed to the margins in Kolathur and other seats, noting that 15 sitting DMK ministers had lost despite the full force of incumbency.
He vowed that his government would deliver on welfare through legislation and policy “without fanfare” and uphold secular social justice as a non-negotiable principle. “Let those rejected by the people hurt us however they wish. Only the service to the people and their welfare matter to us,” Vijay said.
In his response on X, Udhayanidhi reminded Vijay that the DMK’s votes had directly contributed to his rise to power. “You say we were rejected by the people. But it is the votes that fell to us that made you CM. Have you forgotten that, CM Sir?”
Responding to Vijay’s statement wherein he recalled 2006 when the DMK formed a minority government, Udhayanidhi said, “The government that came to power in 2006 was not formed by poaching MLAs, by horse-trading, by splitting parties, or by sending sofa sets. It was a government formed with the full mandate of the DMK alliance, elected by the people.
That seems to have slipped your memory,” he said. Taking a swipe at Vijay’s government formation process, he added, “Even without a majority, we did not line up daily at Lok Bhavan out of hunger for power.”
“The DMK may have lost this election. But the fact that you yourself had to promise the continuation of our welfare schemes and the Dravidian model of governance is our victory as the Opposition,” Udhayanidhi stated.
