Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C. Joseph Vijay takes oath as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister during the swearing-in ceremony, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Chennai, on May 9, 2026. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam founder and actor C. Joseph Vijay on Sunday (May 10, 2026) became the second debutant Legislator to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 1967. He is also the first member of a minority religious denomination (Christian) to occupy the top post in the State.
In September 2001, O. Panneerselvam was sworn in as Chief Minister in his first term as legislator after the Supreme Court unseated Jayalalithaa from the office of Chief Ministership on account of her disqualification to be a legislator due to conviction in the TANSI land deal cases.
Mr. Panneerselvam, now a DMK legislator, was at that time the Revenue Minister. He had previously served as Municipality Chairman.
However, the key difference in Mr. Vijay’s case is that he faced his debut election as the Chief Ministerial face of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which he floated in February 2024. He was instrumental in carrying the party entirely on his shoulders and emerging as the leader of the largest single party in the 17th Assembly.
DMK founder C.N. Annadurai had served a term as Legislator (1957-62) before he took over as Chief Minister in 1967. His successor in 1969, M Karunanidhi, was a third-time Legislator. Likewise, AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran served as a legislator in 1967 and 1971, before winning for a third time in 1977 when he assumed charge as Chief Minister. His successor in the party, Jayalalithaa, had served a term as Legislator and Leader of Opposition (1989), and gone on to take over the mantle of Chief Ministership in 1991. She was a Rajya Sabha member earlier.
Edappadi K. Palaniswami was first elected to the Assembly in 1989, and when he took over as Chief Minister in February 2017, he was a Legislator for the fourth time and had experience as Minister. Mr. Palaniswami had also served a term as Lok Sabha MP (1998).
In May 2021, when M.K. Stalin assumed charge as Chief Minister, he was entering the Assembly for the seventh time.
Incidentally, MGR’s widow Janaki Ramachandran, who was sworn in Chief Minister after his passing, was not a member of the House. Her Ministry was short lived.
Published – May 10, 2026 12:26 pm IST
