With Congress’s approval, Vijay’s vote tally reaches 113. He still needs five more legislators to secure a stable government.
The suspense continues after the results of the Tamil Nadu elections witnessed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar emerges victorious.
After decades of inter-party tug of war between the DMK and AIADMK, the actor-turned-politician and his new party now sit at the heart of government formation talks, but still fall short of achieving a clear majority in the pending Assembly.
TVK was the single largest party in the 234-member House of Representatives. It won 108 seats Assembly elections 2026. Majority mark is 118. DMK won 59 seats while AIADMK won 47 seats.
Small parties, including PMK with four seats, IUML, CPI, VCK and CPI(M) with two seats each, along with others, completed the fragmented mandate.
Payment from Congress
Vijay’s first big breakthrough came on Wednesday when Congress officially announced its support. Moving away from its long-term ally, DMK, Congress has brought 5 MLAs into the fold of TVK.
Girish Chodankar, AICC in-charge of Tamil Nadu, said the support was conditional. “Our support should be conditional on TVK distancing from this alliance any sectarian forces that do not believe in the Indian Constitution,” he said.
With Congress’s approval, Vijay’s vote tally reaches 113. He still needs five more legislators to secure a stable government.
Stumbling block VCK
Vijay is now looking towards Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), led by Thul Thirumavalavan. The VCK holds two crucial seats, but despite TVK’s spread, the party is undecided.
“It will be decided by our party president Thul Thirumavalavan,” a senior VCK functionary said. This hesitation comes at a time when other allies of the DMK, the Left parties (CPI, CPI-M) and IUML, have met the DMK chief. MK Stalin to emphasize their loyalty to the old alliance.
CPI(M) candidates R Chellaswamy and Latha, CPI members T Ramachandran and Marimuthu and IUML MLAs-elect Syed Farooq Pasha SSB and AM Shahjahan all met Stalin and later claimed their continued support for the DMK. So, even as TVK builds its numbers, the DMK seems to be maintaining its remaining coalition structure in the Assembly.
Vijay’s shares are demanded by the government
Despite the narrow gap, Vijay met the Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlikar on Wednesday to support his claim to form the government. Accompanied by senior party aides like ‘Bussy’ N Anand and Aadhav Arjuna, Vijay is moving forward with the momentum of a ‘Prime Minister Designate’.
While the governor evaluates the numbers, TVK sources indicate that the swearing-in ceremony could happen as early as this week.
Vijay contested the state elections from two constituencies, Trichy East and Perambur. He won both. He will now have to vacate a seat, and if that happens, a by-poll will be held in the constituency he vacates.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
Anita Goswami is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, where she primarily covers Indian and international news. With four years of experience in the field, she has led coverage of Indian general elections, Assembly elections, and national polls in the US, Canada, Bangladesh and Nepal. Its reports cover world wars and major events, including Operation Sindoor, the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina, and the Mahakumbh Mela. It verifies the facts and uses clear sources to ensure the accuracy of the reports. As a former Editor-in-Chief at Storytailors, she has managed teams to produce high-quality content for networks such as NDTV, Profit, CNBC-TV18, Upstox and News18. Her work has appeared on NDTV, Meaww and Global Pulse. Throughout her tenure, Anita has collaborated with and received mentoring from leading industry experts. When she’s not reading, Anita can be found outside or at a bakery. Areas of interest: Indian political history, international elections, historical policy analysis, global conflicts, cultural events, Formula 1, art, media ethics, reporting on social and political change over time.Read more
