Daijiworld Media Network – Chennai

Chennai, May 10: In a historic event that brings an end to nearly six decades of alternating Dravidian party rule in the state, actor-turned-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder C Joseph Vijay was sworn in as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday, May 10 morning.

State governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Vijay at a grand ceremony held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.

Along with the new chief minister, nine newly-elected TVK legislators also took the oath as cabinet ministers. The ministers sworn into the new cabinet include 'Bussy' N Anand (T Nagar), Aadhav Arjuna (Villivakkam), K G Arunraaj (Tiruchengodu), K A Sengottaiyan (Gobichettipalayam), P Venkataramanan (Mylapore), C T R Nirmalkumar (Thirupparankundram), A Rajmohan (Egmore), T K Prabhu (Karaikudi), and S Keerthana (Sivakasi).

The mega swearing-in ceremony was attended by prominent national political figures, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alongside Vijay’s parents, S A Chandrasekhar and Shoba Chandrasekhar, actress Trisha and numerous notable personalities from the Tamil film industry. 

Making a spectacular electoral debut, the TVK emerged as the single-largest party by winning 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly. Falling just 10 seats short of the 118-majority mark, the party successfully formed a coalition government after securing unconditional outside support from the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), CPI, and CPI(M). This crucial backing pushed the newly formed coalition's total tally to 120 legislators. 

Following the formation of the new government, the governor has directed chief minister Vijay to prove his majority by seeking a vote of confidence on the floor of the assembly on or before May 13.