Vijay meets Tamil Nadu Guv for 4th time, stakes claim to form govt after securing support of 120 MLAs

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C. Joseph Vijay on Saturday, May 9, met Tamil Nadu Governor Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to stake claim to form government after securing the support of 120 MLAs and comfortably crossing the majority mark required in the 234-member Assembly.

The latest boost to Vijay’s party came after the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) formally extended support.

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Earlier, IUML legislative party leader SSB Syed Farook Basha along with deputy leader A.M. Shahjahan submitted a signed letter to Arlekar expressing the party’s support for the TVK-led government in the state.

Besides them, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) have also extended support to TVK, paving the way for Vijay to consolidate the numbers required to stake a claim before the Governor.

As per the latest tally, Vijay-led TVK now has the backing of 120 MLAs, which includes 107 from TVK, five from the Congress, two each from the CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML.

The 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu were held in a single phase on April 23, while the results were announced by the Election Commission on May 4.

This time, the elections witnessed a fierce four-cornered contest involving the DMK, AIADMK, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), and TVK.

The TVK emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats. However, the party’s effective strength came down to 107 after Vijay decided to retain only one of the two seats he had won.

Post that, hectic political activity unfolded in Chennai as TVK started communicating several parties to gather support for government formation.

The CPI and CPI(M) were among the first parties to publicly extend support to Vijay, followed by the Congress, which contested the polls in alliance with DMK.