Thalapathy Vijay secures majority, set to become Tamil Nadu CM

Actor-turned-politician Thalapathy Vijay has secured the required majority to form the government in Tamil Nadu, ending days of political uncertainty following a fractured mandate in the assembly elections.

Vijay's party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), won 108 seats in the 234-member assembly, emerging as the single largest party but falling short of the 118-seat majority mark.

The Communist Party of India announced unconditional support to TVK on Friday, May 8, after internal discussions. The CPI has two MLAs in the assembly. The CPI(M) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which also have two MLAs each, have also extended support to Vijay.

With the backing of five Congress MLAs, who broke from the DMK alliance to support TVK, and the six MLAs from the Left parties and VCK, the TVK-led camp has now crossed the majority mark of 118.

Vijay is expected to meet Governor RN Ravi on Friday evening to stake claim to form the government. TVK supporters have been protesting outside the Governor's residence, demanding that Vijay be invited to take oath as Chief Minister.

The DMK and AIADMK, which won 59 and 47 seats respectively, had explored a possible alliance to keep TVK out of power, but the proposed "unholy alliance" never materialised.

The Congress party's decision to support TVK came with the condition that the party would not ally with "communal parties", a reference to the BJP.

If sworn in, Vijay will become the first actor-turned-politician to become Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since the late MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.