An ancient Chinese philosopher and founder of TAOISM said “When virtue is lost, benevolence appears, when benevolence is lost right conduct appears, when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder.”
The recently concluded four states and union territory elections confirm what is stated above is true. Expediency is nothing but a compromise between ethics and opportunism. The prevailing situation in the state of West Bengal being volatile and the rhetorics of defeated former Chief Minister refusing to resign from her post threatening to reject the massive mandate of the public has created a constitutional crisis hither to not found such a serious situation in the history of people mandate so far.
In Tamil Nadu is that instead of pursuing a meaningful and just solution, the policy of expediency has taken over to find a political solution. Under the ongoing stalemate the inquiry constantly is what will please, and not what will benefit the mandate given by the people. If the situation prevail without any immediate solution, then there can be nothing but temporary expedient, fickleness and folly leading to political chaos. The prevailing political uncertainties has been created by the expedient actions of the political dispositions prevailing the aforesaid two states.
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” Democracy is a dynamic power and not a static condition. It is not absolute. It cannot be taken for granted. Its condition is freedom and its aim is truth. It is never fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle and struggle must we to preserve, protect and defend the integrity of the nation and liberty of the individual.
The Blockbuster debutant film star Vijay’s VTK party has scripted a new narrative in the Tamil Nadu politics by vanquishing the two Dravidian Parties of DMK and AIADMK. Even though Vijay Joseph’s TVK party has become the largest party with their 108 elected candidates but could not get an absolute majority of minimum 117 members. Hence, it has created a hung assembly situation leading to break the deadlock by forming possible alliances among the various parties.
The doctrine of expediency has set the motion to find a solution to break the political impasse. As per the electoral norms. The leader of TVK party with their 108 elected members, Joseph Vijay, a novice to the Indian Political scenario without knowing the nature of our legislatures sought the help of smaller parties to fill the gap of 11members. Congress with their 5 elected members immediately jumped into the band wagon and offered their support-to-support TVK party in its attempt to form the government. It is conspicuous that the congress ditched their time-tested alliance with DMK for the sake of sharing the power. The TVK leader, an apprentice in Indian Politics, without application of his mind accepted the support blindly without understanding the vagaries of Indian political legal scenario approached the Governor of Tamil Nadu along with the mandate of 5 members of Congress party.
Unfortunately, Vijay did not have any constitutional expert to guide him through the protocol of the constitutional propriety. Ideally, Vijay should have first provided a list carrying signatures of only the elected 108 TVK MLAs. This would have asserted his status as the leader of the TVK, which emerged as the single largest party. In that case the governor could have called him to form the government and proved his majority in the assembly. Instead including the names of the 5 expedient congress MLAs and staking to form a coalition government must have instilled a doubt which might have prompted the governor to send him back with an instruction to prove his minimum majority of 118 signatures required to form the government.
Now, by including the names of the Congress MLAs, Vijay implied that a coalition government was staking a claim to form the government. He effectively staked a claim for a coalition administration. This might have prompted the Governor to send him back again and asked him to return with 118 signatures, the majority required to form the government. It is very interesting to note that if at all Vijay has any seasoned politician in his team, he is Sengottaiyan, a nine-time MLA, ditched the AIADMK in 2025 to join the TVK. Vijay overlooked this aspect of his own candidate.
However it was certain considering the nature of the political ecosystem with the doctrine of expediency and opportunism and horse trading entrenched in the system, it was a forgone conclusion that Vijay will ultimately succeed in forming the government. After facing his first jolt in forming hi government, it will augment well for Vijay to turn the past chapters of Indian Political history as to how coalition governments performed and survived except two times when Late Narasimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayee survived the full terms of 5 years. Vijay can learn some lessons by studying how they survived the coalition government.
‘Thalapathy’ Vijay should have understood the bitter truth pertaining to politics is that Politics does not have any permanent friend or enemy but only permanent Interest and the interest being usurp power by any means. The Drama being enacted in Tamil Nadu Election is how to usurp the maximum power. The two Dravidian parties DMK and AIADMK are two predators ready to preying on the pray TVK. They may adopt any means to pounce on their vanquisher at the very first wrong step that Vijay takes.
Vijay should be prepared to face further shocks especially he has just 12 MLAs with different ideology and political perceptions especially when it comes to participation in the government byway of ministerial positions and portfolios. It is going to be a tricky situation for the survival of the government. As long as political expediency and horse trading prevail, it is difficult to survive a coalition government. Vijay Has miles to go to understand the pitfalls to manage the coalition government successfully. Last but not the least, Vijay has declared that he will not have any association with DMK because he considers DMK as his political rival and he declares that BJP Is his ideological rival. But he has not clearly spelt his political ideology and whether he is going to follow the same path adopted by his new found supporter congress party and his political rival DMK as far as Sanatan Dharma is concerned. Is Vijay seeking the support of Indian Union Muslim League and getting it as per his ideology? However, let good sense prevail and let him succeed in his new avatar as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu as the head of a diverse political congregation.
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