Plea in Supreme Court says Governor is ‘duty-bound’ to invite TVK to form government in Tamil Nadu

A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday (May 8, 2026), submitting that the Tamil Nadu Governor is duty-bound to invite Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party president C. Joseph Vijay, as the leader of the single largest party, was to form the government in the State and later prove the majority on the floor of the House.

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The petition filed by Ezhilarasi P., who said she is a TVK party member based in Chennai, cited media reports that Governor Rajendra Arlekar may invite post-poll coalition parties in Tamil Nadu to form the government.

The petition, filed by advocate A. Lakshminarayanan, said such a move by the Governor would “sound the death-knell for democracy” and be against the mandate of the electorate.

“Since no pre-poll alliance has a majority, the natural first call is to the TVK as the single largest party, especially since it has already filed a formal claim with the Congress’s letter of support. The Governor’s role is to invite and not to demand a full proof of majority before issuing the invitation,” the petition said.

It said that requiring the TVK to first produce letters from 118 letters before issuing an invitation would invert the constitutional sequence established by the Supreme Court.

“The correct sequence is invite, swear-in and then hold the floor test immediately,” the petition said.