TVK chief Vijay to take oath as CM today.

Chennai; May 2026: As the legacy Dravidian duopoly ends in Tamil Nadu, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay is set to take oath as the Chief Minister today, scripting history. Backed with Vijay’s popularity and demand for change amid fatigue with a DMK-ADMK binary, the TVK won 108 seats in the debut Assembly elections. Amid post-poll politics, Vijay managed to stitch an alliance with Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML to cross the majority mark of 118 seats and is poised to head the coalition government.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will be attending the swearing-in ceremony at Nehru Stadium in Chennai. Meanwhile, yesterday (09th May 2026), Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar appointed TVK leader C Joseph Vijay as the new Chief Minister of the State and asked him to prove his majority in the Assembly before May 13.

Vijay, an actor-turned-politician, submitted letters of support from Congress, CPI, Communist Party of India (Marxist), VCK and IUML to the Governor. After he takes the oath, Vijay will become the first leader outside the DMK and AIADMK formations to head the Tamil Nadu government since 1967.

Superstar Vijay, who is often referred to as the ‘Thalapathy’, showed a crowd-pulling ability in the election rallies, which many compared to actor-turned-politician and former CM MG Ramachandran. While Tamil Nadu has had a long history of actors entering and conquering politics, the State awaited another star to step up in the line after Captain Vijayakanth.

Vijay has embraced Dravidian politics while pitching himself as an alternative to traditional Dravidian parties. On October 28, 2024, in what is regarded as his first political speech, Vijay called Periyar his ideological leader, while noting that the party will not adopt his atheism. He also referred to CN Annadurai, K Kamaraj and Babasaheb BR Ambedkar as the party’s leaders for the idea of social justice.

He has also embraced his Christian identity while being outspoken about secular politics.Although the TVK was launched in 2024, he has been looked at as a social worker and has not been apolitical, given his films, which dealt with drug menace, corruption and other socio-political issues. While there has been speculation of him entering politics since 2009, Vijay has involved himself in social work. In the 2026 elections, he won two seats, Perambur and Trichy East, and will resign from one.

Meanwhile, yesterday (09th may 2026) while answering questions of the media reporters, S. A. Chandrasekhar, father of Thalapathy Vijay, who himself is a renowned Tamil film director, producer, and writer, expressed his happiness over the appointment of the actor-turned politician as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, exhorting him to “Do everything for Tamilians. I am happy. I am so happy.  Whatever I am doing, I am doing it only for my son. Finally, Tamil people have succeeded through Vijay”, he told reporters after Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar appointed TVK Chief

Vijay as the Chief Minister of the State yesterday night. “Do everything for Tamilians”, he said while giving a message to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Chief, who crossed the majority mark of 118 MLAs, including 108 of his own party, in the 234-member state assembly.

In an order, Governor Arlekar said, “I, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Tamil Nadu, hereby appoint Thiru C Joseph Vijay, as the Chief Minister of the State of Tamil Nadu, under Article 163 of the Constitution of India”.

Meanwhile, Thalapathy’s fans and TVK supporters rejoiced in excitement across Tamil Nadu. A party supporter and fan shared her excitement, saying that she had not eaten food since yesterday and has been waiting for Vijay to be appointed as the Chief Minister since May 04, when the results of the Tamil Nadu assembly polls were announced and TVK got 108 seats, just 10 short of the majority mark. “We have been eagerly waiting for this moment. I have not eaten food since yesterday. We have been waiting for this one word (Chief Minister) since May 4”, he said.

Another fan, Balaji, said they are “overwhelmed with emotions and happiness. No one can destroy us. People said we would get one seat or 10 lakh-20 lakh votes. Nobody could have imagined that this party that started two years ago would now be sitting in the CM seat. We are overwhelmed with emotions and happiness”, he said.

Yesterday, on 09th May, Vijay had met Tamil Nadu Governor Arlekar at Lok Bhavan after his party, with the support of the post-poll allies, crossed the majority mark required to form the government in the state Assembly. TVK’s tally has now reached 121 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 118. TVK emerged as the single largest party in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, winning 108 seats in its electoral debut.

The party was initially short of the majority mark but subsequently secured the backing of Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

Team Maverick.