Tamil Nadu CM-designate Vijay’s oath ceremony rescheduled to 10 am Sunday

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C. Joseph Vijay will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday at 10 am at Chennai’s Nehru Stadium, according to an official release issued by Raj Bhavan on Saturday.

The timing updates earlier reports which had said Vijay would take oath at 3:15 pm on Sunday.

Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan in Chennai and submitted a letter informing him of his election as leader of the TVK legislature party.


Also Read: Big 'Vijay' for TVK as VCK promises 'unconditional support' to form govt in Tamil Nadu

He also submitted letters of support from the Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), backing the formation of a government under his leadership.

Following the meeting, the Governor appointed Vijay as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and invited him to form the ministry.

The Governor has directed the chief minister-designate to seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly on or before May 13.

The development comes after several parties, including the Congress and IUML, extended support to the Vijay-led TVK, taking the alliance’s strength to 121 MLAs in the 234-member Assembly. TVK emerged as the single largest party in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, marking Vijay’s dramatic political debut.

TVK General Secretary Aadhav Arjuna on Saturday announced that Vijay was set to become chief minister after the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) extended “unconditional support” to the party, helping it cross the majority mark in the 234-member Assembly.

VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan handed over the party’s official letter of support to Arjuna, who thanked the Congress, Left parties and VCK leadership for backing TVK’s government formation bid.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which has two MLAs, also extended support to TVK, taking the alliance’s tally to 121 seats in the Assembly. Congress, CPI and CPI(M) later extended support to the party, while the AIADMK declined to back TVK.

The current numbers backing Vijay include TVK’s 108 MLAs, Congress’ five, CPI’s two, CPI(M)’s two, VCK’s two and IUML’s two legislators.

Vijay is expected to meet Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar again with letters of support from allied parties to formally stake claim to form the government.

The development comes after a brief controversy late Friday night when the Governor’s initial nod to TVK’s claim was reportedly revoked following allegations by AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran that the party had submitted a photocopy of a forged support letter purportedly from an AMMK MLA.

Also Read: IUML extends unconditional support to TVK; Vijay now backed by 121 MLAs

Meanwhile, outgoing Chief Minister M. K. Stalin said the DMK would act as a “constructive opposition” and welcomed the decision of alliance partners to support TVK in order to ensure political stability and avoid fresh elections in the state.