Joseph Vijay sworn-in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C. Joseph Vijay was sworn-in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister in Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Sunday (May 10, 2026) morning — a moment long awaited by several thousand fans and supporters. As Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new Chief Minister, emotionally-charged supporters cheered their ‘Thalapathy’ assuming Tamil Nadu’s top political office. Several fans turned visibly emotional, with some shedding tears of joy as they witnessed the actor-turned-politician becoming the Chief Minister of the State. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was present on the stage.

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Dressed in a black blazer and black pants, Mr. Vijay wore his characteristic smile as he walked up to the podium to be administered the customary oath of office and secrecy. As he commenced uttering “C. Joseph Vijay ennum naan…”, the crowd erupted in celebration, with whistle sounds filling the stadium with excitement and a sense of political arrival. Mr. Vijay, who has been in TN cine industry since 1984 and entered politics only a few years ago, has now become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, where cinema and politics continue to remain closely associated. Nine others, N. Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, K.G. Arunraj, K.A. Sengottaiyan, P. Venkataramanan, R. Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, T.K. Prabhu and S. Keerthana were also administered the oath of office and secrecy.

TVK contested in 233 constituencies without any allies and secured around 1.7 crore of the total 4.9 crore votes polled in the April 23 Assembly election. Over the five days after his party secured 108 of the 234 seats in the Assembly on May 4, Mr. Vijay managed to secure the support of the Congress, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and the Indian Union Muslim League to form the government. On Saturday evening, the Governor appointed Mr. Vijay as the Chief Minister with a direction to seek the vote of confidence of the Assembly on or before May 13.

The Cabinet led by Mr. Vijay also marked a new political chapter after five decades that will be scripted neither by the AIADMK nor the DMK. In February 2024, Mr. Vijay formally launched his party, contending that his Vijay Makkal Iyakkam fan club alone could not bring about social, economic and political reforms and that political power was necessary. In a statement issued on February 2 that year, Mr. Vijay had vowed to oppose a political culture riddled with corruption and divisive practices based on caste and religion.

Mr. Vijay’s political journey since 2024 is said to have prompted several young people and cinema fans to take greater interest in politics, with the TVK emerging as an alternative political platform for many in the State. At the same time, the two-year-old party’s ideological positioning, organisational structure and the political acumen of many of its functionaries may still be evolving. For now, however, the TVK with Mr. Vijay as its face, seems to have sufficient electoral strength to keep both the AIADMK and the DMK out of power in Tamil Nadu.