CHENNAI: A fresh row over the formation of the TVK government erupted in the Assembly on Monday after Minorities Welfare Minister AM Shahjahan alleged that the two IUML MLAs were taken to a Chennai hotel, threatened and kept under watch on the night of May 8 to prevent them from backing TVK’s C Joseph Vijay after the poll produced a hung House.
The allegation of attempts to influence MLAs in the days immediately after the election results came during the debate on the demand for grants for the Registration, Forest and Environment departments.
Shahjahan said the IUML, which had contested the 2026 Assembly polls as part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, eventually chose to support Vijay to prevent the formation of a government that, in its view, would be backed by the BJP and function as a “puppet” of the union government.
However, Shahjahan stopped short of naming those he believed were behind the alleged confinement, saying he did not want to place all the details before the House as they could have wider political consequences. “Who took the two IUML MLAs to the hotel after 10 pm on May 8? Who was assigned to guard them?” he asked. He said he would be forced to reveal more if the issue was pursued further.
The IUML and VCK extended support to the TVK the following day, May 9, helping Vijay muster the numbers needed to form government.
The exchange came after recent remarks by IUML MLA Syed Farooq Basha at the party’s general council meeting in Tiruvannamalai. Basha had said he and Shahjahan were approached with offers involving crores of rupees and ministerial berths. However, Basha clarified to the Assembly that his comments had been misrepresented and he had only repeated what IUML leader Kader Mohideen had stated.
Meanwhile, Minister Aadhav Arjuna turned the tables on the DMK, alleging that the IUML MLAs had been taken to the Accord Metropolitan hotel on May 8. Since the hotel was owned by DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan, he questioned the ties.
