C. Joseph Vijay was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on May 10, 2026 [1].
The swearing-in ceremony marks a fundamental shift in the region's political landscape, ending nearly six decades of dominance by Dravidian parties. Since 1967, the state has been governed exclusively by the DMK or AIADMK [5].
The ceremony took place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai [2]. Vijay, popularly known as actor Vijay or the leader of the TVK party, took the oath of office before a crowd of supporters and family members [1]. His family said the moment was historic [3].
Vijay's ascent to power follows a coalition victory that secured 120 MLAs [3]. This exceeds the majority threshold of 118 seats required in the Tamil Nadu Assembly [4]. The government is supported by a coalition including Congress, the Left, VCK, and IUML [6].
This transition represents the first non-Dravidian government to take power in the state since 1967 [5]. The shift follows a campaign that leveraged Vijay's massive popularity as a cinema star to build a political platform capable of challenging the established party structures in the south.
“Ending a 59-year run of Dravidian parties”
The election of C. Joseph Vijay signals a breakdown of the long-standing bipolar political order in Tamil Nadu. By successfully consolidating a coalition of diverse ideological partners—ranging from the Congress to the Left—Vijay has demonstrated that a celebrity-led populist movement can dismantle the institutional hold of the DMK and AIADMK, potentially altering the trajectory of regional identity politics in India.
