Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 8 (ANI): In a historic shift that has dismantled over six decades of Dravidian duopoly, actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay is set to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu tomorrow, May 9, 2026, at 11:00 AM.
The announcement follows a week of intense political manoeuvring after the 2026 Assembly elections delivered a fractured mandate. Vijay’s party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), emerged as the single largest entity with 108 seats, but remained short of the 118-seat majority mark.
The swearing-in ceremony, scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, marks the first time since 1967 that a party other than the DMK or AIADMK will lead the state.
The development comes after Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan, where he formally staked claim to form the government after consolidating support from multiple parties following the fractured mandate in the recently concluded Assembly elections.
However, in a move which was least expected, another contender for the CM post surfaced as AMMK, with 1 seat, extended its support to AIADMK, which has 47 seats to form a government. In a letter, AMMK urged the Governor to invite AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to form the government.
TVK, which emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats, had fallen short of the majority mark of 118 required to form the government independently. The CPI, CPI(M) and VCK, which won 2 seats each, were the key players which stepped up to back Vijay, while Congress (5 seats) had already extended its support at the crucial point, paving the way for a change after the state was led by a traditional Dravidian DMK-AIADMK duopoly.
On the occasion, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of TVK chief Vijay as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, according to INC sources.
CPI State Secretary Veerapandian called it the “democratic duty” of the left parties and VCK to support “the single largest party TVK”, which fell short of 6 seats despite allying with Congress.
“TVK is the single-largest party. It needs 6 MLAs to form the Govt. We have given 6 MLAs of CPI, CPI(M) and VCK. We have given our support; it is our democratic duty. This is a people’s democracy. We will stand with democracy, we will stand with people,” he told ANI.
TVK MLA Marie Wilson expressed confidence that the news about Vijay’s oath would break late at night. “You will get the news by late tonight…We are confident. 100%,” he said.
The CPI(M)’s national general secretary MA Baby explained the reasoning behind the Left’s decision with unusual directness.
“We realised that there are various other moves to organise opportunistic alliances by those who have been rejected by people. This was mostly masterminded by the communal forces with the direct intervention of the Union government. We have decided that this has to be stopped at any cost. CPI(M), CPI and VCK, after having had mutual consultation, have decided to inform our political decision to the leader of DMK, MK Stalin. The Governor’s refusal to invite Vijay to take the oath of office of the Chief Minister shows that he has some other agenda,” he said.
Baby affirmed that the CPI(M), CPI and VCK decided to extend support to TVK to prevent the political uncertainty, and added that the leaders of the three parties also discussed the decision with the outgoing Chief Minister, MK Stalin.
The day opened with fury on the streets. Tamil Nadu Congress staged a protest against the BJP-led Union government and Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for not inviting TVK chief Vijay to form the next government. A protest was also held near Jhansi Rani Park in Madurai.
The anger was directed squarely at the Raj Bhavan. TVK supporters also staged a protest outside the Lok Bhavan in Chennai.
The Governor had, the previous evening, asked Vijay to furnish proof of 118 MLAs backing his claim before being invited to form a government. That demand was widely seen as constitutionally irregular and had drawn backlash.
AIADMK national spokesperson Kovai Sathyan, however, defended the Governor’s stand, saying, “TVK is the one that gave a confession, claiming that we are the single largest party with 108 seats, and we have the support of 5 more. So, the Governor is duty-bound to ask, ‘Where are the other 5?'”
With the Left and Congress united behind Vijay, the arithmetic finally resolved in his favour. With Vijay also stepping down from one of the two seats he won in the assembly polls, the effective strength of TVK in the assembly will become 117.
TVK leader Kamraj had expressed confidence in the outcome even before the formal announcements came through. “At present, TVK is going to gain the full majority. Vijay is going to meet the Governor at 4.30 pm to stake a claim to form Govt. We are very happy to see that CPI, CPI(M) and VCK have accepted the people’s mandate to form the Govt and make Vijay the CM of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Another highlight was the widening rift in the INDIA bloc after Congress decided to back TVK and break away from DMK-led SPA.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked Congress and reiterated his commitment to the INDIA bloc in times of difficulty, a day after Congress dumped DMK and decided to support Vijay’s TVK to form a government in Tamil Nadu. He shared pictures alongside TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and DMK supremo MK Stalin on social media and said, “We are not the ones who abandon each other in times of difficulty.”
Thier rift spanned to the Lok Sabha as DMK officially requested a separate seating arrangement in the house, moving away from its long-time ally, the Indian National Congress.
The decades-old alliance between the DMK and Congress, which has stood largely firm since 2004, disintegrated over the last 48 hours.
Tamil Nadu is on the cusp of a new era. The man who once played heroes on screen is hours away from leading the government of one of India’s largest states. (ANI)
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