Joseph Vijay was formally sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu by Governor Rajendra Arlikar on Sunday, marking a historic political shift in the state after the Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) formed a post-election alliance to form the government.
On the recommendations of party president Vijay, nine people from TVK were appointed to the cabinet by Arlikar.
Vijay, wearing a jacket, took the oath to thunderous applause from the audience, including his parents, SA Chandrasekar and Shobha, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
In the presence of a host of political leaders, including opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, BJP Tamil Nadu president Nainar Nagendran, former BJP Tamil Nadu president Tamilisai Soundararajan, and IAS and IPS officers, Arlikar administered the oath of office to Vijay and nine others.
The nine candidates appointed as ministers are party general secretary N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, KG Arunraj, K Sengottaiyan, P Venkataramanan, R Nirmalkumar, R Rajmohan, T K Prabhu and S Keerthana, the statement said.
This is the first time that the song Vande Mataram has been sung twice at the swearing-in ceremony.
Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam emerged as the largest single party in the April 23 Assembly elections by securing 108 assembly segments, short of the 117 seats required for a majority. It ended the long-standing era of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu.
The two-year-old party approached several parties and received support from Congress, CPI, CPI(M), All India Muslim League and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), taking the total number to 120 and enabling it to form the government.
On May 9, the VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League, after days of suspense, extended their “unconditional” support. While the Congress is expected to be part of Vijay’s government, the Left parties, VCK and IUML have announced that they will extend “external” support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
On May 9, he directed Arlikar, who had invited the TVK chief to form the government, to prove his majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly by seeking a vote of confidence on or before May 13.
Soon after Vijay’s TVK party secured the required majority to form the government, a host of political leaders, including outgoing Chief Minister M K Stalin, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai and former Union minister P Chidambaram, extended their greetings to the new government on Sunday.
