A last-minute attempt to make Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol. Thirumavalvan the first Chief Minister hailing from the Scheduled Caste in Tamil Nadu, with support from the DMK and the AIADMK, is learnt to have failed last weekend.

On Monday, VCK sources told The Hindu that Mr. Thirumavalavan was asked to withhold the letter of support to C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). This prompted him to delay the announcement until May 9 evening.

“Initially, the AIADMK was unable to secure its MLAs’ consent for the idea. By the time it seemingly convinced them, around 4 p.m., he (Thirumavalavan) had made up his mind against the proposal. We would have faced criticism that, despite the TVK having won in 108 constituencies, the VCK, with just two MLAs, had hijacked the people’s mandate,” a senior VCK leader said.

Backroom negotiations

Explaining the backroom negotiations, he said the idea of making Mr. Thirumavalavan the Chief Minister was mooted after a bid for an AIADMK government with the DMK’s support ran into hurdles.

The CPI, the CPI(M) and the VCK were informed about the AIADMK-DMK proposal.

“However, the Left leaders were unwilling to support an AIADMK government, as they were aware of the BJP’s role in the arrangement. This prompted the Left parties and the VCK to support the TVK to prevent Governor’s rule,” the leader said.

While the Left parties handed over their letters of support to the TVK on May 8, some in the DMK and the AIADMK approached the VCK with the fresh proposal.

Although many within the VCK favoured the proposal, Mr. Thirumavalavan remained unconvinced.

Repeated discussions

On May 8 night, he met a senior DMK leader, while an AIADMK leader remained in touch with him.

He discussed the issue again on May 9 instead of going ahead with the press conference as originally planned.

In the evening, Mr. Thirumavalavan eventually handed over the letter of support to TVK leader Adhav Arjuna, who was waiting to receive it.

“Even if a government headed by Mr. Thirumavalavan had survived for just one day, it would have created history,” another VCK leader, who supported the move, said.