Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph C Vijay has had a rather tough ride over the past few days as he sought the majority power required to take over as the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
The Vijay-led suspense finally came to an end on Saturday after he received support from the IUML and VCK, followed by Governor RV Arlikar’s nod to form the government. Track updates on Tamil Nadu section ceremony
He took the oath on Sunday morning, along with nine TVK MLAs, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was present at the ceremony held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Why did Vijay have difficulty filing a claim?
When the results of the Tamil Nadu state assembly elections were announced on May 4, Vijay’s TVK party surprised everyone by winning 108 seats, emerging as the largest single party.
Everyone called it a great start for TVK, but the debut didn’t quite work out. It had its drawbacks. TVK was short of 10 seats to form a stable government on its own and is now relying on a post-election coalition.
Over the next few days, there were talks with other parties about a possible alliance, with the Congress coming to support TVK with five MLAs. After a lot of back and forth, the party received support from the CPI and CPI-M, followed by the VCK and IUML on Saturday.
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Amid the suspense, the newly-elected Prime Minister met Governor Arlikar at least four times before taking the oath of office on Sunday.
In the end, the numbers turned in Vijay’s favor, and the star rose from films to the corridors of power in Tamil Nadu and was sworn in on Sunday morning.
He found allies in opponents. Vijay’s path to power mimicked a movie scenario as he was almost racing against time to gather majority support before May 10, otherwise President’s rule would have been imposed in Tamil Nadu.
Movies to power up the arcade: A look back at Vijay’s journey
One of the leading actors of the Tamil film industry, Vijay was born in 1974 and made his cinematic debut in 1992 with the film ‘Naalaiya Theerpu’. He comes from a film background, and his father SA Chandrasekaran was the director who directed his first film. Vijay’s mother, Shoba Chandrasekhar, is a singer and playback singer.
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He rose to fame through his lover boy image as his role in romantic films like Poove Unakkaga, Love Today, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai and Thullatha Manamum Thullum were highly appreciated in the 1990s.
At the turn of the millennium, he changed his genre and participated in more action films, such as Thirumalai, Ghilli and Pokkiri. Some of his commercial hits in the last decade include Thuppakki, Katthi, Mersal, Sarkar, Master, Leo, and The Greatest of All Time.
Vijay’s latest film and its obstacles
While he left films in 2024 and entered politics, his film Jana Nayagan, which was scheduled to release in January this year, could not hit the screens as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) did not certify it. The release was delayed due to objections from the CBFC, prompting the manufacturers to move the court. The matter is before the court, and thus the film has been stopped. In April, the film was leaked online, rocking the Tamil film industry and raising concerns about piracy.
Jana Nayagan is directed by H Vinoth and is touted to be Vijay’s last film as he enters politics with TVK. It also stars Mamitha Baiju, Pooja Hegde and Bobby Deol. The film was supposed to release in theaters on Pongal but was postponed due to delay in certification.
Although the producer approached the court, he did not receive any relief. Vijay has since alleged a “conspiracy” due to the film’s delay, blaming the ruling parties for it. He also claimed that news about his personal life was deliberately leaked before the elections
