Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leader Vijay to be sworn in as new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on May 7
Actor-turned politician Vijay will be sworn in as Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister on May 7, ending the DMK-AIADMK duopoly. He has claimed 108 seats for his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, and seeks to form the government.
Actor-turned politician Vijay, who on Monday ended the decades-long DMK-AIADMK duopoly in Tamil Nadu, will take oath as the state's new Chief Minister on May 7. The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief on Tuesday wrote to Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar to formally stake his claim to form the government. Vijay will also meet the Governor and stake a claim to form the government on Wednesday, May 6.
Vijay to be new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Vijay is said to have informed the Governor that the TVK had secured 108 seats, and being the single largest party, it should be invited to form the government. TVK is just 10 seats short of the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu legislature.
Quick answers to key questions
Vijay is scheduled to be sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on May 7. He formally staked his claim to form the government with the Governor on May 6.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly. This made it the single largest party, though it fell short of the majority mark.
The Congress party has publicly announced its full support for the TVK to form the Tamil Nadu government. This alliance was formed after the Congress ended its 55-year partnership with the DMK.
The majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly is 118 seats. TVK secured 108 seats, falling short of the required majority on its own.
Tamil Nadu, with its 234 assembly seats, can have a maximum of 35 Cabinet ministers. The previous DMK government had 34 ministers.
Who will join hands with Vijay?
To form the government, TVK is expected to seek support from smaller parties, including Congress, PMK, Left parties, CPI(M), and VCK, which could push it past the majority threshold.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
DMK decimated
The DMK, which won 133 in the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly election, winning an absolute majority for the first time in 25 years, was reduced to just 59 in the 2026 polls. Several DMK heavyweights, including CM Stalin and 14 of his ministers, lost their elections. Stalin lost in Kolathur to TVK's VS Babu by a margin of 8,795 votes.
Vijay's journey into politics
15-year-old Vijay, who made his lead actor debut in the 1992 Tamil film Naalaiya Theerpu at the age of 18, is considered one of the biggest names in the Tamil film industry. In 2024, after years of speculations, Vijay shocked his fans by announcing retirement from movies to enter politics.
Vijay formally announced his political party, TVK in February 2024 and made it clear that the newly-launched outfit would skip the Lok Sabha elections, later that year and would make electoral debut in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls in 2026.
Rocky road
Despite his popularity as a movie star, Vijay did not have it easy in his early days in politics and was embroiled in a major controversy last year after a fatal stampede at a campaign rally in Karur left at least 40-41 people dead and injured over 100 others. However, Vijay and TVK managed to overcome the initial setback and ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2026, the party decided to go alone.
Tamil Nadu election results
TVK fielded candidates in all 234 seats in the Assembly polls, with Vijay contesting and winning two seats - Perambur (Chennai) and Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) East.
Vijay's rise to power also marks a historic moment, as Tamil Nadu will witness its first government outside the DMK and AIADMK dominance since June 1977.
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