Actor Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday morning at Chennai's Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, becoming the first leader in nearly six decades with no connection to either of the Dravidian parties that have governed the southern Indian state since 1967.
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office at 10 a.m. local time. Nine ministers were inducted simultaneously into the cabinet, including TVK General Secretary N. Anand, TVK leaders Aadhav Arjuna and K.A. Sengottaiyan, and Selvi S. Keerthana, the only woman in the inaugural council. Vijay kept the portfolios of public administration, police, and home for himself, according to Variety.
The ceremony ended a week of acute political uncertainty that repeatedly threatened to block Vijay from taking power. His party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, had won 108 seats in the April 23 election, an extraordinary debut for a new political outfit, but 10 short of the majority threshold of 118. When Vijay went to the Governor on Wednesday to stake his claim, he could demonstrate the backing of only 113 legislators: his own 108 seats plus five from Congress, which had broken from its previous DMK alliance to back TVK.
What followed was days of frantic political maneuvering. Television channels carried near-continuous speculation that the DMK and AIADMK, rivals for six decades, were holding secret talks to form a combined government that would exclude Vijay and keep power within the Dravidian fold. The reports gained some credibility when AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami assembled his 47 newly elected MLAs in Chennai and asked them to remain in the city in case something new and unprecedented required their approval, even after a meeting that officially ruled out supporting Vijay.
The deadlock broke over Thursday and Friday. VCK party president Thol. Thirumavalavan confirmed his party's unconditional backing for Vijay, followed by the Indian Union Muslim League. The Left parties, CPI and CPI(M) with two seats each, then fell in line, carrying TVK's combined floor strength to 120 and settling the question of who would form the government.
The final coalition count rests on TVK's own 107 effective seats, Vijay having won two constituencies and being required by law to vacate one, alongside five from Congress and two each from CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML. TVK has committed to facing a vote of confidence on or before May 13.
