CHENNAI: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Chief C. Joseph Vijay was on Saturday officially invited by the Governor-in-charge Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to form the next government in Tamil Nadu after demonstrating majority support in the 234-member Assembly. In a major political development that ended days of uncertainty following the fractured Assembly verdict, Vijay met the Governor at Lok Bhavan in Chennai and submitted a letter informing him of his election as the leader of the TVK Legislature Party.
He also handed over letters of support from the Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Following the meeting, Raj Bhavan issued an official statement confirming that Governor Arlekar had appointed Vijay as the Chief Minister-designate of Tamil Nadu and invited him to form the Ministry.
The Governor also directed the TVK Chief to seek a vote of confidence in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on or before May 13.
Raj Bhavan also announced that the swearing-in ceremony would be held at Chennai's Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
The development came after Vijay successfully secured the support of 120 MLAs, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 118 required to form the government in the 234-member Assembly.
According to the final tally, the TVK-led formation has the support of 107 TVK MLAs, five Congress legislators, and two MLAs each from the CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML. (IANS)
Also Read: Doubts Persist Over Vijay’s Oath Ceremony in Tamil Nadu