DMK's Stalin stakes claim to form government in Tamil Nadu
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Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin called on Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday and staked claim to form government in the state. Stalin was unanimously elected leader of the legislature party on Tuesday Party president @mkstalin was elected leader of the DMK legislature party," DMK said on its official Twitter handle on Tuesday after 133 newly-elected MLAs participated in the meeting where the decision was made.
Party general secretary Duraimurugan, treasurer T R Baalu, principal secretary K N Nehru and organisation secretary R S Bharathi accompanied Stalin to the Raj Bhavan, a party release said. This would be the sixth time DMK will come to power in the southern state. The 68-year-old leader will take oath as the Tamil Nadu chief minister on May 7 in a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhavan. The oath-taking ceremony will be a low-key event in view of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis.
In the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly election, the DMK-led alliance won 159 seats. The AIADMK won 66 segments and its partners BJP and PMK four and five seats respectively. Tamil Nadu has a 234-member Assembly.
In a statement after emerging victorious, Stalin thanked the people for their mandate. “I’d be truthful to you, I’d work for you. My thoughts and deeds are for the people of Tamil Nadu,” he said, adding that the party had to face difficulties and endure insults in the run-up to the polls, and this victory was a reward for their 50 years of work. The DMK was in opposition for a decade before this and its chief Stalin had been functioning in the shadows of his late father and former party chief M Karunanidhi. Stalin had, however, led the party to a sweeping victory in the 2019 parliamentary elections, by winning 38 out of 39 seats.
