How Tamil Nadu Got A Christian CM But Missed A Scheduled Caste Chief Minister

Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s 14th Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay, has the distinction of being the State’s first Chief Minister from the Christian faith. Yet, his religious identity scarcely figured in public discourse, as the screen charisma he built over three decades projected him as a leader of the masses, cutting across faiths and social divides.

However, the Dravidian heartland — long at the forefront of path-breaking social justice reforms for over a century — narrowly missed the opportunity to have its first Scheduled Caste Chief Minister last week.

It is now widely known that after the electorate delivered a fractured mandate in the recent Assembly elections, efforts were made to stitch together a post-poll arrangement between the AIADMK and the DMK, with the latter expected to support an AIADMK-led Government from the outside. When that did not materialise, the two parties attempted an alternative to prevent political newcomer Vijay from consolidating his position in the top office.

On Saturday morning, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which has two legislators in the Assembly, was expected to formally hand over its letter of support to Vijay’s TVK. Journalists gathered at the VCK headquarters, led by Thol. Thirumavalavan, the prominent Scheduled Caste leader, anticipating the announcement. But hours passed without any sign of TVK leaders arriving or the support letter being handed over. At one stage, reporters were merely informed that the timing of a press conference would be announced at 4 p.m.

It has now emerged the delay stemmed from a last-minute attempt to cobble together an alternative Government. “That morning, a senior AIADMK leader reached out to Thirumavalavan and requested him to hold back the letter of support to the TVK. He told Thirumavalavan he could become the Chief Minister of a Government formed with the backing of the AIADMK and DMK. This triggered fresh discussions within the VCK on the feasibility of the proposal,” a source familiar with the developments said on Monday.

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“The AIADMK subsequently conveyed to the VCK that they should continue to hold on and that something would be finalised by late evening. But as the uncertainty dragged on, TVK second-line leader Aadhav Arjuna arrived at the VCK office to meet Thirumavalavan. Unwilling to wait any longer, Thirumavalavan handed over the letter of support,” the source added. Arjuna then rushed to deliver the letter to Vijay before the delegation proceeded to Lok Bhavan to meet the Governor.

“Yes, Tamil Nadu lost an opportunity to have a Scheduled Caste Chief Minister. But political realities must be acknowledged. Only the TVK was in a viable position to form the Government; the numbers simply did not favour the rest. Even if such an arrangement had been stitched together, it is unlikely it would have survived beyond a few months,” a political observer said.