Chennai, May 5 :DMK President and Chief Minister-designate M K Stalin today met Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal
Purohit and staked his claim to for the next government. Mr Stalin, accompanied by senior DMK leaders, including General Secretary Duraimurugan, Parliamentary party leader T R Baalu and Organising Secretary R S Bharathi, met the Governor at Raj Bhavan and handed over the Legislature party resolution electing him as the Leader.

He also submitted a letter containing the support of 133 MLAs, including those of allies, who had contested the April six Assembly polls, on the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol. He also submitted the list of his Council of Ministers to Mr Purohit.

Mr Stalin, who led the DMK return to power for a sixth time after a gap of ten years, was unanimously elected as the Legislature Party Leader last evening at a meeting of the newly-elected MLAs held at party headquarters Anna Arivalayam.

Later, Mr Bharathi told reporters that an invitation from the Governor asking Mr Stalin to form the next government is expected this evening. Mr Stalin will be sworn in as the Chief Minister for the first time at a simple function–in view of the COVID pandemic–to be held at Raj Bhavan on May 7. His Council of Ministers will also be sworn in along with him.

In the April six polls, the DMK, riding on the silent anti-incumbency factor against the AIADMK regime, stormed back to power after a gap of ten years.

The DMK-led Front won 159 of the total 234 seats in the polls. While the DMK won 133 seats (including six by its allies who had contested on DMK’s Rising Sun symbol), the Congress and VCK won 18 and four seats respectively. DMK’s other allies CPI and CPI(M) bagged two seats each.

The remaining 75 seats were bagged by the AIADMK-led Front. The AIADMK won 66 seats, while its allies PMK and BJP won five and four seats respectively. This is the first Assembly election faced by the DMK and AIADMK in the absence of two tall leaders–former DMK Chief M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa of AIADMK.(UNI)