Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 10 : As the legacy Dravidian duopoly ends in Tamil Nadu, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay is set to take oath as the Chief Minister on Sunday, scripting history.
Backing Vijay's popularity and demand for change amid fatigue with a DMK-ADMK binary, the TVK won 108 seats in the debut Assembly elections. Amid post-poll politics, Vijay managed to stitch an alliance with Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML to cross the majority mark of 118 seats and is poised to head the coalition government.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will be attending the swearing-in ceremony at Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar on Saturday appointed TVK leader C Joseph Vijay as the new Chief Minister of the State and asked him to prove his majority in the Assembly before May 13.
Vijay, an actor-turned-politician, submitted letters of support from Congress, CPI, Communist Party of India (Marxist), VCK and IUML to the Governor.
After he takes the oath, Vijay will become the first leader outside the DMK and AIADMK formations to head the Tamil Nadu government since 1967.
Vijay, often referred to as the 'Thalapathy', showed a crowd-pulling ability in the election rallies, which many compared to actor-turned-politician and former CM MG Ramachandran. While Tamil Nadu has had a long history of actors entering and conquering politics, the State awaited another star to step up in the line after Captain Vijayakanth.
Vijay has embraced Dravidian politics while pitching himself as an alternative to traditional Dravidian parties. On October 28, 2024, in what is regarded as his first political speech, Vijay called Periyar his ideological leader, while noting that the party will not adopt his atheism. He also referred to CN Annadurai, K Kamaraj and Babasaheb BR Ambedkar as the party's leaders for the idea of social justice.
He has also embraced his Christian identity while being outspoken about secular politics.
Although the TVK was launched in 2024, he has been looked at as a social worker and has not been apolitical, given his films, which dealt with drug menace, corruption and other socio-political issues. While there has been speculation of him entering politics since 2009, Vijay has involved himself in social work.
In the 2026 elections, he won two seats, Perambur and Trichy East, and will resign from one.