Vijay Set To Take Oath Tomorrow? TVK Hits Magic Mark

After four days of high-voltage political drama, superstar Vijay appears to have finally cracked the numbers game in Tamil Nadu.

Sources say Vijay has informed Governor R V Arlekar that he now has the support of 118 MLAs, the exact majority mark needed to form the government.

The actor-politician is expected to take oath as the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu tomorrow at 11 AM, sources said.

The breakthrough reportedly came after hectic last-minute negotiations with the VCK, AMMK and one IUML MLA. The support of these smaller parties seems to have pushed TVK past the magic figure.

On Friday evening, celebrations broke out near Vijay’s Chennai residence, with supporters raising loud slogans of “TVK, TVK.” After days of suspense, the mood in the Vijay camp finally turned festive.

Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam had stunned Tamil Nadu politics by winning 108 of the 234 seats in its debut election.

The result broke the six-decade dominance of the DMK and AIADMK, but the joy was short-lived as the party fell short of the majority mark by 10 seats.

Governor Arlekar had refused to invite Vijay to form the government unless he submitted clear proof of majority support.

In two earlier meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, the Governor reportedly told Vijay that he could not run a government with only 113 MLAs when the House majority was 118.

Vijay needed 10 more MLAs. And now, he seems to have got them.

The first big boost came from the Congress, which broke away from the DMK alliance and offered five MLAs to TVK.

The support came with one condition: TVK should not align with “communal forces,” an indirect reference to the BJP.

After that, TVK intensified talks with the VCK, CPI and CPM. By Friday afternoon, sources said the three parties had agreed to support Vijay. Together, they bring six MLAs to the table.

All three were earlier DMK allies, making their shift a major political blow to M. K. Stalin’s camp.

As an added advantage, Vijay is also said to have secured support from one IUML MLA and the lone AMMK MLA of T T V Dhinakaran. With this, TVK’s tally has reportedly gone up to 121.

However, support has come at a cost. The Left parties are expected to extend outside support and stay away from the cabinet. The Congress, on the other hand, is said to be expecting two ministerial berths.

The bigger twist in the drama was the speculation over a possible DMK-AIADMK understanding to stop Vijay. The two Dravidian giants, bitter rivals for decades, were reportedly exploring options to keep the TVK out of power.

But the so-called “unholy alliance” never took shape. Senior leaders in both camps reportedly felt that such a move would trigger massive backlash from their cadre and voters.

There was also brief speculation about a TVK-AIADMK deal, but that too did not move forward.

Meanwhile, the BJP has denied any role in the stand-off between Vijay and the Governor. The party said Tamil Nadu had delivered a fractured verdict and that the Governor would act constitutionally if Vijay proved his majority.

For now, Vijay appears to have done exactly that.

If there are no last-minute surprises, Tamil Nadu may witness a historic moment tomorrow; a film superstar taking oath as Chief Minister after smashing the old Dravidian political order in his very first election.