Cabinet nod to increase SC judges strength Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared a proposal to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from 34 judges to 38, including CJI Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said a Bill will be brought in the next Parliament session | P9 The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1956, as originally enacted, provided for a maximum of 10 judges (excluding CJI) This was increased to 13 by an amendment in 1960, to 17 in 1977, and to 25 (excluding CJI) in 1986 A fresh amendment in 2009 further augmented the strength to 30 The last time SC judges strength was enhanced was in 2019, to 33 (excluding CJI) chennai l wednesday l may 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Vijay stakes claim, govt likely by May 7 In letter to Lok Bhavan, TVK president requests two-week time to prove majority; process on to select ministers Cong decides to jump ship, forge pact with TVK P r abha k a r Tami l a r asu @ Chennai Day after the historic electoral victory in which his fledgling party secured 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C Joseph Vijay has for mally staked his claim to form the government. After a meeting at the TVK headquarters in Panaiyur on Tuesday, where he was elected leader of the TVK legislature party by the new MLAs, Vijay submitted his letter staking claim to form the government to the Lok Bhavan. While sources said the swearing-in ceremony could take place on May 7, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has not yet issued an official invitation. In anticipation of the upcoming ceremony and subsequent floor test, the party has instructed all its MLAs to remain in Chennai. According to sources, Vijay has requested two weeks time to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly. He has also sought an appointment to meet the governor in person. Governor Arlekar, who is currently in Kerala, is set to return to Chennai on Wednesday. Soon after the MLAs meeting, Vijay along with senior party functionaries visited the Voice of Commons (VOC), party’s political strategy team office in Teynampet where they discussed the probable choices P r eetha N ai r @ New Delhi TVK president Vijay arrives at the party headquarters in Chennai | Ashwin prasath Vijay thanks ‘kids’ for win Vijay on Thursday said the TVK’s electoral victory reflected the emotional democracy nurtured by the people in TN for years. He credited younger members of families, particularly children, for the party’s electoral success | P4 TVK’s cabinet probables TVK general secretaries N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, and Arunraj, and deputy general secretaries CTR Nirmalkumar and Raj Mohan are among the probable names under consideration for ministerial berth in Vijay’s first cabinet for the party’s first cabinet. TVK general secretaries N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, and Arunraj, and deputy general secretaries CTR Nirmalkumar and Raj Mohan are among the probables, sources said. Meanwhile, Vijay, who cont e s t e d i n Pe r a m bu r a n d Tiruchy (East) seats, may resign his Tiruchy seat and field former AIADMK Minister Ku Pa Krishnan there, TVK sources said.  P7 The Congress on Tuesday decided to enter into a power-sharing arrangement with actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu to form a new secular government. This is the first split in the DMK-led alliance a day after it lost power. The Congress has five seats in the new assembly . A resolution to support the TVK was unanimously adopted at an urgent meeting of the Tamil Nadu Congress Political Affairs ComAssembly elections mittee convened at 10.30 pm. The late-night meeting called by AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar was held virtually via Zoom. The announcement of the late night meeting came soon after the Congress central leadership said it had directed the state unit to decide on Vijay’s request for support. The decision to leave the matter to the state leadership was taken at a high level meeting, attended by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, general secretary K C Venugopal, and state in-charge Girish Chodankar. The leadership’s move follows a growing clamour within the party for aligning with the TVK. Sources said the leadership placed the onus on the state unit, so as to avoid the impression that the decision was being driven from the top. For, a direct push from the leadership could risk straining ties with its long-time ally the DMK. , Shah BJP observer in Bengal Union home minister Amit Shah will be the BJP’s central observer for the election of its legislative party leader in West Bengal. For Assam, the party appointed Union minister J P Nadda as its central observer Post-poll violence in the state A Trinamool Congress worker was killed in a clash in Birbhum district on Tuesday as stray incidents of post-poll violence were reported across West Bengal a day after the BJP’s landslide victory in the assembly elections, the police said Didn’t lose, won’t resign, says Mamata S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata a day after election results showed a landslide victory for the BJP with 207 seats in the 294-member West Bengal assembly TMC supremo and out, going CM Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday refused to resign, alleging conspiracy behind her party’s drubbing. “There is no question of my resignation... I did not lose,” she said. While the TMC managed to win 80 seats, against 215 in 2021, Banerjee lost her Bhabanipur seat to the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari. Banerjee alleged large-scale irregularities in the counting process, claiming there was deliberate delay in counting to demoralise her party cadre. She also claimed she was assaulted while visiting a counting centre. “I was kicked in the belly and back,” she said. While Banerjee’s refusal to resign has opened up a constitutional grey zone, experts point out that her term ends on May 7 and the governor has the authority to intervene.  P10 Fragile Iran truce not over yet: US A G E N C I E S @ Dubai/Tehran THE fragile truce in West Asia appeared to crumble on Tuesday with the US trying to force open the Strait of Hormuz by escorting stranded tankers through the narrow waterway and Iran launching fresh attacks in response. The UAE, a staunch US ally on Tuesday said its air defences , were engaging missiles and drones from Iran for the second consecutive day On Monday an Ira. , nian drone attack caused a fire, inday juring three people at an energy installation in Fujairah, the UAE’s main oil export terminal bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Attack on civilians On Tuesday the US military said , unacceptable: Modi two US merchant ships made it through the strait, escorted by its Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attacks on UAE navy Defence Secretary Pete Heg. port city of Fujairah that left seth said the US prefers a peaceful three Indian nationals injured, effort to escort more than 22,500 calling it “unacceptable” | P9 mariners stuck on 1,550 vessels due to the closure of the strait. While Iran denounced the US move as a ceasefire violation, Hegseth called it a ‘temporary mission’, adding the ceasefire “is not over”. Trump refused to give an example of what would trigger a truce breach, instead saying: “They know what to do, or what not to do more importantly Iran’s parliament speaker .” and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned the US that Tehran is ready to escalate the war.  P13 67 E x p r e s s Re a d RB Choudhary dies in car accident in Udaipur Chennai: Veteran Tamil producer R B Choudhary, founder of Super Good Films which has produced nearly 99 movies in various languages, died in a car accident in Udaipur on Tuesday. He was 76. Choudhary had received seven Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and four Cinema Express Awards | P2