Chief Minister Vijay: TVK govt finally takes oath at mega event in Tamil Nadu, floor test by May 13
Nine newly-elected TVK MLAs also took oath along with Vijay on Sunday. These include Aadhav Arjuna, KA Sengottaiyan, N Anand, Dr KG Arunraj, P Venkataramanan, R Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, Dr T Prabhu and S Keerthana.
ACTOR-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay took oath as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister today, 10 May, days after his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's (TVK) stellar debut performance in assembly polls. The swearing-in was held at Chennai's sprawling Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium amid Vijay's sea of supporters, ending days of uncertainty over government formation.
Vijay-led TVK managed to clinch key support of the Congress, Left and two other smaller parties after it ended at 108 seats, 10 short of 118, the majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly. The TVK now has the support of 120 MLAs in the 234-member assembly. Vijay won from two seats in the assembly polls and will resign from one seat.
Nine newly-elected TVK MLAs also took an oath along with Vijay. These include:
1-Aadhav Arjuna
2-KA Sengottaiyan
3-N Anand
4-Dr KG Arunraj
5-P Venkataramanan
6-R Nirmalkumar
7-Rajmohan
8-Dr T Prabhu
9-S Keerthana.
The oath of office on Sunday was administered by Tamil Nadu's acting Governor Rajendra Arlekar, who had earlier invited Vijay to take the oath. CM Vijay has to prove a majority on the floor of the assembly before 13 May.
The election results were announced on 4 May, yet the suspense continued till 9 May as Vijay scrambled for numbers to cross 118 seats – the magic number.
The suspense, however, ended when VCK, which has two seats, finally extended support after keeping the TVK on tenterhooks and the political circles abuzz over its stand over the last two days.
With his oath, Vijay, 51, has become the first leader outside the DMK and AIADMK formations to head the Tamil Nadu government since 1967.
With the party formed two years ago, Vijay pitched himself as an alternative to traditional Dravidian parties. Vijay called Periyar his ideological leader, while noting that the party will not adopt his atheism, unlike the DMK. He also referred to CN Annadurai, K Kamaraj and BR Ambedkar as the party's leaders for the idea of social justice.
