Chennai, 09 May (H.S.): Actor-turned-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C. Joseph Vijay was on Saturday formally invited by Governor-in-charge Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to form the next government in Tamil Nadu after proving majority support in the Assembly.

The development followed a high-level meeting between Vijay and the Governor at Lok Bhavan in Chennai, where the TVK leader submitted documents confirming the support of several opposition parties backing his claim to power.

Soon after the meeting, Raj Bhavan issued an official press release announcing that Vijay had been appointed Chief Minister-designate of Tamil Nadu. The statement also confirmed that he had been asked to seek a floor test in the Assembly on or before May 13.

The Governor further announced that the swearing-in ceremony of the new government would take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

With the backing of alliance partners, Vijay comfortably crossed the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly. The TVK-led formation now has the support of 120 MLAs, including 107 from TVK, five from the Congress, and two each from CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML.

Tamil Nadu went to the polls on April 23 in a single-phase election that witnessed a fierce four-cornered contest involving the DMK, AIADMK alliance, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), and Vijay’s TVK.

The results, declared on May 4, saw TVK emerge as the single-largest party with 108 seats. However, after Vijay chose to retain only one of the two constituencies he had won, the party’s effective strength came down to 107.

Following the election verdict, intense political activity unfolded in Chennai, with TVK holding discussions with several parties to secure support for government formation. Celebrations broke out among TVK workers across the state after the Governor’s announcement confirming Vijay’s appointment as Chief Minister-designate.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman