Guwahati: After four days of political uncertainty, Tamil Nadu finally got clarity on government formation as Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay was sworn in as the state’s chief minister on Sunday, ushering in a new political era.
Vijay became the first chief minister since 1967 who does not belong to either of Tamil Nadu’s two dominant Dravidian parties ,the DMK or the AIADMK.
The swearing-in ceremony at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was attended by several prominent figures, including Rahul Gandhi, Vijay’s parents SA Chandrasekhar and Shoba Chandrasekhar, along with actors from the Tamil film industry such as Trisha Krishnan.
Vijay currently enjoys the support of 120 MLAs, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 118 seats in the Assembly.
A major boost came on Saturday when the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) extended unconditional support with two MLAs each.
Earlier, support from the Indian National Congress (5), Communist Party of India (2), and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (2) helped TVK secure the numbers needed to form the government.
Although VCK, IUML, CPI, and CPI(M) have backed the TVK government, they have decided to remain outside the formal alliance structure.