Chennai, May 10 (IANS) Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C. Joseph Vijay will take oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday, along with nine ministers, after his party secured the support of 120 MLAs, crossing the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Assembly.

According to a release issued by the Lok Bhavan, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has approved the list of nine ministers recommended by Vijay for induction into the new cabinet.

The ministers taking the oath along with Vijay are N. Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, Dr K.G. Arunraj, K.A. Sengottaiyan, P. Venkataramanan, R. Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, Dr T.K. Prabhu, and S. Keerthana.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai in the presence of several national and regional leaders.

Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi arrived in Chennai on Sunday morning to participate in the event.

Vijay’s ascent to power comes after days of intense political negotiations following a fractured verdict in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

The TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats but fell short of the halfway mark on its own. The political deadlock ended after the Congress, the CPI, the CPI-M, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) extended support to Vijay’s party, helping the alliance attain the “magic number” of 118 required to form the government.

With the backing of alliance partners, the Vijay-led formation touched 120 MLAs in the Assembly.

Following the support from alliance partners, Vijay met Governor Arlekar and submitted letters of support while formally staking claim to form the government. The Governor subsequently invited him to form the ministry and directed the new government to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly on or before May 13.

The formation of the Vijay-led government is being seen as a major political turning point in Tamil Nadu politics, where Dravidian parties have dominated the state for nearly six decades.

–IANS

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