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Tamil film star Vijay is Indian state chief minister after days of uncertainty
Film star-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay's has been sworn in as the new chief minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, ending days of political uncertainty.
The 51-year-old's newly-formed party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won 108 seats in last week's vote-counting - leaving him 10 seats short of a majority in the 234-member assembly.
India's main opposition Congress, with five seats, pledged support within hours of the results. But state Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar insisted that TVK submit proof of support from 118 legislators needed to form the government.
On Saturday night, the actor received an appointment letter after he secured support from a number of smaller parties.
The TVK now has support from four parties - Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). All the four parties have two assembly seats each which means TVK now has support from 120 legislators.
The confirmation that Vijay would form the government came on Saturday after he called on the governor - their fourth meeting in as many days.
Sunday morning's oath-taking ceremony was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, the state capital, amid very tight security. Nine ministers were sworn in along with the actor.
The ceremony was attended by several prominent politicians, including ally Congress party's senior leader Rahul Gandhi who flew in from Delhi for the ceremony. Film personalities and industrialists were also in attendance.
Popularly known as "Thalapathy" Vijay (Commander Vijay), the 51-year-old actor has appeared in 69 films and is among India's highest paid stars.
His spectacular rise on the political stage has been compared with that of matinee idol MG Ramachandran, who formed his own party and became chief minister in 1977.
Vijay commands immense popularity among Tamil Nadu's youth and women and his win has delighted fans and supporters.
His party leaders and their allies had criticised the governor's refusal to invite Vijay to form the government.
The actor first called on Governor Arlekar on Wednesday and staked claim to form the next government. He met him again on Thursday.
Hours later, the governor's office put out a press release explaining that "the requisite majority support in the legislative assembly, essential for forming the government, has not been established".
Analysts said the governor's priority was to ensure the formation of a stable government which would be able to prove its majority in the assembly.
Some constitutional experts, however, said there was enough precedent where the governor invited the single largest party or coalition to form a government and gave them time to prove their majority on the floor of the house. They said it was unfair to deny Vijay that opportunity.
Tamil Nadu's politics has been dominated by two regional parties - Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) - which have alternated in power for decades.
The TVK defied expectations and demolished that duopoly to emerge as the single largest party in the recent election. The actor's party defeated the powerful incumbent DMK, led by MK Stalin.
In the past few days, as uncertainty over the fate of TVK continued, Indian media reports hinted at all sorts of permutations and combinations that could be used to form a new government, including one that could see bitter rivals DMK and the AIADMK joining hands.
Tamil Nadu has long seen cinema mixing with power and Vijay has followed in the footsteps of film stars Ramachandran and his successor J Jayalalithaa who led the state for decades. However, unlike them, he doesn't have any political experience.
Soon after launching TVK in 2024, he announced that he would retire from films to pursue politics full-time.
Source: BBC
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