The AMMK levelled forgery accusations against the Vijay-led TVK on Saturday — vowing to approach the Tamil Nadu Governor with a criminal complaint. The assertion came hours after the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam broke into celebrations after reaching the majority mark of 118 seats through several alliances. But plans for an oath-taking ceremony on Saturday morning were cancelled abruptly after expected support from the VCK failed to materialise. The TVK, for its part, has released video ‘proof’ of AMMK MLA Kamaraj “voluntarily and happily writing a letter expressing his support” for the party.

“A letter was issued in support of TVK by my MLA S Kamaraj. We are all panicked and shocked. I got an appointment with the Governor and I showed the real letter that I got from our CM candidate Edappadi Palaniswami… I came to know that TVK submitted a forged xerox copy of the letter and the Governor asked for the original one… This is forgery… We are going to file a criminal complaint now,” party general secretary TTV Dhinakaran told ANI.

The lone AMMK MLA also told reporters on Friday night that the letter was not in his handwriting — calling it a forgery.

The clash came mere hours after Dhinakaran wrote to Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to back AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi Palanisami’s claim to form the government. Dhinakaran had urged the Governor to invite EPS to form the government and “be sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state”. News agency ANI cited the letter as claiming that MLA-elect Kamaraj supported the party stance. The AMMK has secured only 1 seat in the recent assembly elections.

What does the TVK say?

The TVK has vehemently denied the claims and shared videos to ‘prove’ that AMMK MLA S Kamaraj had voluntarily supported the party — purportedly with the approval of Dhinakaran. The Vijay-led party insisted that subsequent claims that he had not written the letter were “completely false and contrary to the truth”.

“”These are the video visuals of AMMK MLA Kamaraj voluntarily and happily writing a letter expressing his support for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. He had stated that he was extending support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam with the approval of AMMK General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran,” the TVK said.

The party also accused Dhinakaran of “concealing these facts” and spreading misinformation. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam also insisted that it had “no need to bargain or negotiate with anyone”.

Alliances for 10 seats

The TVK made a stunning electoral debut on Monday as it won 108 seats and emerged as the single largest party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. But the 118-seat majority mark remained elusive over the next four days — despite an alliance with the Congress that gave it five additional seats. Celebrations began on Friday afternoon after hectic parlays led to alliances with the CPI, CPI(M) and VCK — each of whom have two seats.

The numbers wobbled yet again on Friday night as VCK chief Thirumavalavan failed to submit a formal letter of support to Governor Rajendra Arlekar — despite publicly insisting that his party would follow the Left parties’ decision on supporting TVK.