Outgoing Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said he will wait for the public-chosen Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party, led by ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay, to form the government and watch “without disturbing” for a few months.
Vijay’s TVK pulled off a stunning show in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu election 2026 in its debut poll, winning 108 seats — short of just 10 from the majority mark of 118 in the state assembly.
The TVK is now in need of the remaining seats to be able to form government and has the support of Congress, which won five seats. The Congress support is not enough for the TVK, which is yet to secure explicit backing from any other party.
Amid TVK’s efforts to collect support, Stalin indicated on Wednesday that his party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) does not want a constitutional crisis.
“DMK will wait for TVK leader C Joseph Vijay to form the govt, and watch without disturbing for six months”, Stalin was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
“The new government should continue with the free breakfast scheme for school children,” he said when asked what tops his priority list. “And ‘Kalaignar magalir urimai thogai’ ( ₹1,000 monthly allowance to women heads of households),” Stalin added.
When asked about Vijay’s promise of ₹2,500 to women, Stalin doubted the feasibility of the same.
“Give them at least ₹1,000 as we did,” he said, adding that his government fulfilled 90 per cent of the promises the party made in its 2021 manifesto. He said some promises like discontinuing NEET couldn’t be fulfilled because of Centre’s control.
He said their promises in this poll also were practical. “In this election too, we promised only those things we could deliver. I don’t think TVK will be able to fulfill its promises [referring to six free LPG cylinders a year to each family of ration card holders],” he was quoted as saying.
Actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay met Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Arlekar on Wednesday to stake claim to power but wasn’t invited to form the next government as officials said Lok Bhavan was seeking legal opinion to ensure the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) commanded a majority.
TVK’s hunt for majority
Shattering the 50-year-old Dravidian duopoly to emerge as the single-largest party in assembly election 2026 has not been enough for Vijay’s newbie outfit TVK to form government in Tamil Nadu, where the simple majority mark in the 234-member House is 118.
Vijay has the support of the Congress’s five lawmakers but is yet to secure explicit backing from any other party.
On Wednesday, Vijay submitted a list of TVK and Congress lawmakers who pledged support, said leaders in the Tamil Nadu Congress who asked not to be named. But Lok Bhavan officials indicated that a formal decision on inviting Vijay to form the government and holding the swearing-in ceremony had not yet been made, HT reported earlier. The officials added that the governor was also seeking legal opinion.
“The governor wants to be sure that Vijay has the support of a majority of MLAs,” an official said on the condition of anonymity. Lok Bhavan did not officially respond to HT’s queries on why Vijay was not invited.
