Thalapathy Vijay battled missing figures, political villains and constant fluctuations for five days before presenting the final climax – the Tamil Nadu CM’s division.
Over the past five days, C. Joseph Vijay has battled a host of political “bad guys” — missing numbers, reluctant allies, deleted letters of support, quid pro quo claims, and a governor unwilling to blink without written proof of a majority. On Sunday morning, he completed his hero’s walk by taking oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
The actor-turned-politician, who started the week as the biggest winner after the Tamil Nadu elections but is still short of the majority mark, overcame one political hurdle after another to form a six-party alliance and crossed the halfway mark in the 234-member Assembly. Inside the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlikar administered the oath of office to Tamil Nadu founder Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), bringing an end to Tamil Nadu’s most dramatic post-election thriller in decades.
The moment was as historic as it was cinematic. For the first time since 1967, a party outside the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-All India axis formed the government in Tamil Nadu, breaking the 62-year-old political duopoly.
path Live updates on Tamil Nadu government formation here
Chapter One: The mathematical operations that almost derailed the text
TVK emerged as the largest single party in the assembly elections, winning 108 seats in the 234-member House of Representatives when the results were announced on May 4. But almost immediately after the celebrations died down, mathematics became the main antagonist.
The majority mark was 118. Worse still for Vijay was that he won from two constituencies, which meant that his actual voting power during the confidence motion fell to 107 because he could only vote once.
This left him in real need of the support of 11 additional assistants.
The comparison with Vijay’s 2019 blockbuster Bigil quickly became irresistible. In the film, his character Michael Rayappan spends the story assembling an 11-man underdog football team. In real life, Vijay spent five days assembling 11 MLAs.
The second law: Aid arrives from Congress and leftist parties
The Indian National Congress was the first major player to support TVK, offering five MLAs but with conditions attached. The Congress insisted that Vijay keep the “community forces” – short for the BJP-led NDA – out of the alliance.
Then came the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with two MLAs each. Both parties said they support TVK to prevent President’s rule and stop what they called the BJP’s possible “back entry” into Tamil Nadu politics.
The number rose to 116.
Close enough to smell victory, but still short enough to keep the suspense alive.
Chapter 3: VCK, IUML and AMMK target the champion from different directions
For about three days, the spotlight shifted entirely to Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and its president Thol Thirumavavalavan.
At various moments, the VCK appeared ready to support TVK, was reluctant to break away from the DMK-led alliance, and then was reportedly interested in a greater share of power. Rumors were rife about the Deputy Prime Minister’s ambitions and even an alternative arrangement where Thirumavalavan himself could emerge as the consensus prime ministerial candidate.
The suspense reached a crescendo of drama on Friday.
A message of support for VCK has appeared online. Then she disappeared. Then X’s account, which claimed to be the party’s official account, disappeared within an hour. The screenshots continued to circulate through political circles in Tamil Nadu anyway.
Meanwhile, Governor Arlikar met Vijay three times in three days, but rejected his invitation to form the government without written proof of majority support.
Every meeting ended with Vijay walking out empty-handed.
As if the battle of numbers wasn’t messy enough, another subplot exploded Friday night.
The Indian Union Muslim League first hinted at support before leader AM Shahjahan publicly denied issuing any letter of support and insisted that the party remains aligned with the DMK.
Then came the biggest controversy of the week.
As for Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, TTV chief Dhinakaran accused TVK supporters of distributing a “fake” letter demanding support from lone MLA S Kamaraj.
Dhinakaran rushed to Raj Bhavan, demanded an investigation and termed the incident as “horse trading and a mockery of democracy”.
TVK responded almost immediately, releasing a video purporting to show Kamaraj voluntarily writing the letter of support. The party accused Dinakaran of spreading misinformation and insisted that it did not need to “compromise or negotiate” to get support.
Read also: How ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay, Tamil Nadu’s new chief minister, turned things around after the Karur stampede
Chapter 4: The climax arrived on Saturday evening
The breakthrough finally came before the political deadline. On Saturday evening, both the VCK and IUML formally submitted letters of support to TVK. Vijay’s tally rose to 120 – two above the majority mark.
Around the same time, Governor Arlikar canceled his scheduled trip to Kerala and instead scheduled another appointment with Vijay at 6.30 pm.
This time, Vijay entered Lok Bhavan not with verbal assurances or political optimism, but with the signatures of 120 MLAs.
After nearly two hours of discussion, the governor finally relented.
At around 8.30 pm on Saturday, Vijay received an official invitation to form the government.
Read also: How mathematics finally became mathematics for TVK’s Vijay to form the Tamil Nadu government
Final Scene: Thalapathy becomes Prime Minister
On Sunday morning, the man called ‘Thalapathy’ by fans – the leader – completed the most famous political crossover in Tamil cinema since M G Ramachandran and G Jayalalithaa.
Besides Vijay, nine ministers were also sworn in after the governor approved the cabinet list recommended by the TVK chief. The cabinet includes ‘Bussy’ N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, KA Sengottaiyan, KG Arunraaj, P Venkataramanan, CTR Nirmal Kumar, A Rajmohan, S Keerthana and KT Prabhu. Keerthana is the only female cabinet minister.
Vijay is expected to prove his majority on the Assembly floor on or before May 13.
Abhimanyu Kulkarni has spent more than a decade in newsrooms and currently heads the online news desk. He coordinates the daily narrative of the digital newsroom, manages the homepage, plans long-term news events and writes about India and the world. Abhimanyu excels in high-pressure environments, and particularly thrives when navigating the complexities of major breaking news cycles. His strategic approach to digital journalism combines meticulous attention to detail with a broad vision for organizational growth. Along with managing the immediate news flow, he is the chief architect of the medium’s long-term editorial initiatives, ensuring that each project meets the highest standards of journalistic integrity and audience engagement. Experience and National Affairs: Comprehensive coverage of Indian politics, policy shifts, and electoral cycles. Geopolitics and World News: Analysis of International Relations and Global Conflict. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM Abhimanyu’s professional drive is reflected in his passion for the pulse of the world; Where others see the urgent chaos of the story, he finds a compelling narrative. This innate curiosity about world structures ensures that he brings a grounded human perspective to every title he manages.Read more
