Actor-turned-politician Vijay is set to be sworn in as the next chief minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday after successfully proving majority support before Governor Rajendra Arlekar.
The breakthrough came after days of intense political negotiations, repeated meetings with the governor, and mounting criticism from supporters of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), who had accused Raj Bhavan of delaying the government formation process.
According to sources, Vijay’s latest meeting with the governor at Lok Bhavan on Saturday was cordial throughout and marked a dramatic shift from the tense political atmosphere surrounding the previous interactions.
The TVK chief met Arlekar after securing letters of support from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Their combined support of four MLAs pushed the coalition’s tally to 120 — comfortably above the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Assembly.
The coalition backing Vijay now includes 107 MLAs from TVK, five from the Indian National Congress, four from the Left parties — the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) — along with support from the VCK and IUML.
Sources said the governor specifically examined the letters of support submitted by the VCK and IUML, while indicating he had already reviewed those from the Congress and Left parties earlier.
After verifying that Vijay had the required numbers, Arlekar reportedly asked him to suggest a preferred date and time for the swearing-in ceremony. It was eventually decided that the oath-taking would take place at 10 am on Sunday at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
According to sources, the governor informed Vijay that the official appointment letter would be sent within an hour. However, the TVK chief chose to wait at Raj Bhavan and eventually left with the letter in hand after around an hour.
The meeting reportedly also featured lighter moments amid the high-stakes political developments. Leaders from allied parties accompanying Vijay — including representatives from the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, and VCK — were served vadai, halwa, and coffee during the discussions.
Sources added that several alliance leaders even connected their family members through video calls and introduced Vijay to their children during the interaction.
The successful conclusion to the meeting capped several days of uncertainty over whether the TVK would be able to gather enough support to form the government after emerging as the single-largest party in the Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, senior national leaders are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony on Sunday. Rahul Gandhi is likely to be among the prominent leaders present at the oath-taking event in Chennai.