Actor-Turned-Politician C. Joseph Vijay Sworn In As Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Actor-turned-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) President C. Joseph Vijay was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday, marking a historic political shift in the state and ending nearly six decades of alternating rule by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Vijay at a grand ceremony held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
Nine ministers were also sworn in alongside him as part of the new Council of Ministers.
The event was attended by several national and regional political leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, film personalities, party workers, and thousands of supporters, prompting authorities to enforce massive security arrangements in and around the venue.
The Chennai City Police deployed heavy security, intensified vehicle checks, and imposed strict access-control measures around the stadium ahead of the ceremony.
Special seating arrangements were made for prominent guests attending the swearing-in function.
Vijay assumed office after the TVK-led alliance secured the support of 120 MLAs in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 118 required to form the government.
While the TVK emerged as the single-largest party in the recently concluded Assembly elections, it fell short of an outright majority, triggering intense political negotiations over the past few days.
The uncertainty finally ended on Saturday evening after the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) extended their support to the Vijay-led formation.
Earlier, the Indian National Congress, the Communist Party of India (CPI), and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) had also backed the TVK, enabling the actor-turned-politician to stake claim to form the government.
After securing the support of its allies, Vijay met Governor Arlekar at Lok Bhavan in Chennai on Saturday night and submitted letters of support from all five allies — the Congress, CPI, CPI-M, VCK, and IUML. The Governor subsequently appointed Vijay as Chief Minister-designate and invited him to form the ministry. He also directed the new Chief Minister to seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly on or before May 13.
