C. Joseph Vijay, president of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and leader of the single largest party in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, will be sworn in as the next Chief Minister of the state tomorrow, ending days of speculation over the next government in the state.
As per an official press release from the Lok Bhavan, the oath-taking ceremony is scheduled for 10 AM on Sunday, May 10, at Nehru Stadium in Chennai. The new CM will have to seek the vote of confidence of the assembly on or before 13 May, Wednesday.
#UPDATE | The time for the oath ceremony of Tamil Nadu CM-designate Vijay has been changed to 10 am tomorrow, 10th May. https://t.co/hHRLN7ewWO pic.twitter.com/ABRKwP8k3T
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2026
The Lok Bhavan statement said, “Thiru C. Joseph Vijay, called on the Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu today (9.5.2026) at Lok Bhavan and submitted a letter informing about his election as the leader of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam Legislature party. He has also submitted the letters received from the Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Indian Union Muslim League, extending their support to form the Government under his leadership. The Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu has appointed Thiru C. Joseph Vijay as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and invited him to form the Ministry.”
Vijay, popularly known as Thalapathy Vijay, met Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan this evening for the fourth time to formally stake his claim to form the government. This time his claim was strong, as he presented the necessary documents demonstrating the support of 120 MLAs-elect in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, a clear majority.
The move ends days of political uncertainty following the assembly polls, in which TVK emerged as the single largest party but didn’t cross the majority mark. The party won 108 seats, while the majority mark is 118. As Vijay won from two seats, the effective strength of the party in the house will be 107. The party had initially approached the governor with the support of 5 MLAs of Congress, but Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar made it clear that he would not invite him to form the government unless he has the support of enough MLAs to win a simple majority in the house.
TVK finally managed to obtain formal support of 120 MLAs today, as Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) with 2 MLAs each decided to extend their support to the TVK today. Yesterday, CPI and CPI(M) with 2 MLAs each had announced their official support. Therefore, the TVK-led alliance now has 121 MLAs with an effective strength of 120, comfortably above the 118 mark.
After all the parties wrote official letters of support addressing the governor, Vijay and other party leaders met the governor today evening, and it was decided that he will take the oath tomorrow. However, this meeting also came amid uncertainty, as earlier Governor Arlekar declined to give appointment to Vijay for the meeting today, saying that he is visiting Kerala this evening. However, later he cancelled his visit and met the TVK chief at Lok Bhawan, finalising the formation of the new govt in the state.
