Live: What's brewing in TN? DMK 'asks' Stalin to take decision for a 'stable' govt
Earlier, TVK had been asked to prove majority support again before government formation; AIADMK MLAs swarm Puducherry resort
TVK founder Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar again on Thursday (May 7), during which the Governor reportedly asked him to return only after securing the support of 118 MLAs required to form the government in the state. The TVK has not established the requisite majority to form the government in Tamil Nadu, Arelkar told Vijay, according to a Lok Bhavan (formerly Raj Bhavan) release.
As per reports, Vijay is holding a crucial meeting of his party’s newly elected MLAs on Thursday to discuss government formation. The meeting comes in the wake of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) falling short of meeting a simple majority to form the government. Though the Congress with 5 MLAs has offered support to TVK, Vijay's party falls short of a simple majority of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Also read | Will Vijay make it to the CM’s chair? Do others still have a chance?
Meanwhile, more than a dozen newly elected AIADMK MLAs, reportedly inclined towards supporting actor the TVK, have been moved to a resort in Puducherry, fuelling speculation of internal dissent against AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS).
The TVK won 108 seats in the Assembly elections held on April 23. Vijay will have to resign from one of the two constituencies he had won, leaving the strength to 107. The party therefore needs 11 more seats to form the government, of which the Congress has already offered five.
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- 7 May 2026 6:53 AM IST
TN Cong hints Guv not inviting Vijay to form govt, slams BJP for 'politics via Lok Bhavan'
Congress leader Jothimani on Wednesday said that the Legislative Assembly is the place to prove majority and asserted that there was no need to prove majority in the Lok Bhavan.
Hinting that the Governor was not inviting Vijay to form the government, the Lok Sabha member slammed the BJP and said it must immediately stop doing politics via the Lok Bhavan. The Governor must immediately invite TVK leader Vijay to form the government, she added.
In a statement posted on social media, she said: "There is no need to prove majority in the Lok Bhavan. The place to prove majority is only the Legislative Assembly. Supreme Court judgements are clear on this matter. The people have decided that the leader of the single largest party, TVK's Vijay, shall be the Chief Minister."
"It is not right for the Governor to stand in the way of the people's verdict and I believe that the Governor is aware of politics and constitutional principles in this regard. The BJP must immediately stop doing politics via the Lok Bhavan and the Governor should immediately invite TVK leader Vijay to form the government."
- 7 May 2026 6:48 AM IST
BJP worker shot at in Basirhat, party blames TMC-sheltered goons
On a day of escalating post-poll violence in West Bengal, a BJP worker was shot at, allegedly by TMC-sheltered miscreants, in the Basirhat area of North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday, saffron party sources claimed.
The victim, Rohit Roy, was moved to the Basirhat state-run hospital, with bullet injuries in his abdominal area, where his condition was stated to be critical but stable.
In a video footage circulated by the party’s media cell, Roy was heard alleging he was shot by three miscreants from among a group of 8-10 TMC workers when he, along with a few others, were putting up BJP flags in his locality. “I began running after they started shooting indiscriminately. I realised later that I had been hit,” he said, while receiving medical attention at the hospital.
The incident preceded the shocking late evening development of the attack on Chandranath Rath, a close aide of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who was shot dead in a brazen, point-blank attack in Madhyamgram area of the same district, triggering sharp political reactions and escalating tension in the area.
Adhikari, who visited the private hospital where Rath’s body was kept, later told reporters that he was aware of the Basirhat shootout as well as a few other incidents of alleged attacks on BJP workers in other parts of the state, including a knife attack on another BJP activist in the Baranagar area of north Kolkata.
“I urge the party workers not to take law into their own hands. A new government will assume responsibilities in two days, and we will ensure that a repeat of incidents like Abhaya’s murder at RG Kar hospital never happens. The party will stand by the victims and their families, and we won’t allow any more mother and sister to lose their dear ones in this manner,” he said.
- 7 May 2026 6:46 AM IST
Bengal police seize suspect car, scan CCTV after Suvendu aide killing
Following the killing of Suvenu's aide, DGP Siddhnath Gupta said police recovered cartridges from the crime scene and seized the small car allegedly used during the attack.
"The registration number appears to be from the Siliguri Regional Transport Office, but our initial impression is that the number plate may have been tampered with," he said.
Police sources said forensic teams collected samples from the vehicle while investigators scanned CCTV footage from nearby areas to reconstruct the sequence of events and identify the assailants.
Barasat police district SP Pushpa said efforts were underway to ascertain the motive behind the killing.
