Karunanidhi greets Barnala in Chennai on Friday. (PTI)

Chennai, May 12: Tamil Nadu is set to get its first minority government ever, headed by M. Karunanidhi and supported from outside by all his allies, with the Congress quickly putting the lid on speculation over power-sharing.

Sparkling colour pictures of outgoing chief minister Jayalalithaa are being removed at a furious pace from the seat of power Fort St. George, where a 31-member DMK ministry will be sworn in tomorrow.

Governor S.S. Barnala has invited Karunanidhi, whose alliance won 163 of the state’s 234 seats, and received the list of ministers who will take oath with the chief minister. Among the almost 20 new faces is M.K. Stalin, the DMK chief’s son and heir-apparent, long waiting in the wings.

Putting at rest speculation of a possible coalition government in Tamil Nadu after 54 years, senior Congress leader and CWC member Veerappa Moily said the party has promised “unconditional support” for the formation of a DMK government under Karunanidhi’s leadership. After the Congress turned in an unexpectedly good performance, winning 34 seats, there was talk that it might want to share power.

In return, the DMK will support a Congress government from outside in Pondicherry, said Moily, who had a one-hour meeting with Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence. He was carrying a message from Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK with 96 seats is 22 short of a simple majority. In the 30-member Pondicherry House, the Congress has won 109 seats and needs the support of the DMK’s 7.

But Moily skirted an answer when asked about sections in the Congress pushing for a coalition government. “That question is not before us now?. That (power sharing) is a different matter. We have now extended our unconditional support to the DMK and our letter of support will be given soon,” he said, keeping open the option of the Congress sharing power in future.

Shortly after the Congress leader met Karunanidhi, the PMK’s founder-leader S. Ramadoss also called on him and promised outside support. “We are not asking for a share in power. We will extend support from outside, but I impressed upon Mr Karunanidhi to draw up a common minimum programme,” he said.

The DMK chief then drove to the party headquarters where the legislature party meeting unanimously elected him leader, paving the way for his anointment as chief minister for the fifth time. The first time was in 1969, after his political mentor and DMK’s founder-leader C.N. Annadurai died.

In his acceptance speech, Karunanidhi said he was inheriting a “crown of thorns”. He told the party’s legislators the Jayalalithaa-led Opposition, which has 69 members, should not be underestimated.