Rajeev Sharma :- Chandrasekhar Joseph Vijay on Sunday took oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, marking a dramatic political rise for the actor-turned-politician and his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Nehru Stadium, where Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office.
Vijay took the oath in Tamil in the presence of several political leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. During the oath-taking, Vijay briefly deviated from the official text, prompting Governor Arlekar to interrupt and ask him to read only the approved format.
With this, Vijay became the ninth Chief Minister of the state. Alongside him, nine ministers were also inducted into the Cabinet. Among those sworn in were N. Anand, Aadhav Arjun, Dr K.G. Arunraj, K.A. Sengottaiyan, P. Venkataramanan, R. Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, Dr T.K. Prabhu and Selvi S. Keerthana.
TVK emerged as a major force in the Assembly elections by winning 108 seats in the 234-member House. The party later secured support from Congress, Left parties, VCK and IUML to stake claim to form the government.
Following the election results, Vijay met the Governor on May 9 and formally submitted his claim to form the government. The Governor subsequently invited him to take oath and directed him to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly by May 13.
The swearing-in ceremony witnessed heavy public participation, with thousands gathering at Nehru Stadium to witness the event. Rahul Gandhi’s presence at the ceremony further underlined the significance of the new political alliance in the state.
Interestingly, the oath-taking ceremony was originally scheduled for 3:45 pm but was later advanced to 10 am, reportedly following advice from Vijay’s astrologer.
