Chennai, May 10 (IANS) Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C. Joseph Vijay will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu at 10 a.m. on Sunday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, marking a historic political shift in the state after decades-long of uninterrupted rule by the Dravidian majors DMK and AIADMK.

The swearing-in ceremony is expected to be attended by several national and regional leaders, including Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

More than 5,000 guests are expected to attend the event, for which elaborate security arrangements have been put in place across Chennai, particularly around the Nehru Indoor Stadium.

Vijay’s rise to power comes after TVK emerged as the single-largest party in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, by winning 108 seats in the 234-member House.

Though short of the majority mark of 118 on its own, the actor-turned-politician successfully secured the support of several parties to stake a claim to form the government.

The Congress party, which won five seats, extended unconditional support to TVK soon after the election results. The Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) together contributed four MLAs, while the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) added two members each.

With the backing of these parties, Vijay secured the support of 120 MLAs, comfortably crossing the majority threshold required to form the government.

Following the submission of letters of support from alliance partners, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar invited Vijay to form the government, directing him to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly before May 13.

Political observers view Vijay’s elevation as a watershed moment in Tamil Nadu politics, with TVK becoming only the third major political force to form a government in the state after the DMK and AIADMK eras.

Along with Vijay, senior TVK leaders expected to take oath as ministers today include K.A. Sengottaiyan, Aadhav Arjuna, N. Anand, Arun Raj, Nirmal Kumar, Raj Mohan and Venkataramanan.

Heavy police deployment, traffic diversions, and multi-layered security arrangements have been enforced in and around the venue ahead of the high-profile event.

–IANS

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