Vijay to take oath as Tamil Nadu CM today
What's the story
C Joseph Vijay, the leader of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday. The ceremony will take place at Chennai's Nehru Stadium at 10:00am. This marks a historic shift in Tamil Nadu politics, making Vijay the first leader outside the Dravidian parties, DMK and AIADMK, to head the state government since 1967.
Cabinet details
Congress ministers in Vijay's cabinet
Along with Vijay, a nine-member cabinet will also be sworn in. The cabinet will have six ministers from the TVK and three from the Congress party, whose five MLAs have extended their support to Vijay's coalition government. However, the names of the Congress ministers are yet to be officially announced.
Cabinet members
Ministers taking oath with Vijay
The ministers who will take oath along with Vijay include: KA Sengottaiyan, Aadhav Arjuna, N Anand, Arun Raj, Raj Mohan, P Venkataramanan, Dr TK Prabhu, and Keerthana. Ctr Nirmal Kumar, who won from Thiruparankundram in Madurai, is also part of the cabinet. Notably, Rahul Gandhi is expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony as per reports from ANI.
Coalition support
TVK's historic victory and coalition formation
The TVK emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly elections, winning 108 seats. However, it needed support to cross the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Assembly. To achieve this, Vijay secured backing from Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML, taking his coalition's strength to 120 MLAs.
Political rise
End of Dravidian duopoly in Tamil Nadu politics
Vijay's rise to power has ended the "legacy Dravidian duopoly" in Tamil Nadu politics. He campaigned on promises of change and positioned himself as an alternative to the traditional DMK-AIADMK political structure. His party, TVK, was formally launched in 2024, but its inception had been speculated for years before due to his public outreach and social work initiatives.