PM Modi congratulates Vijay on taking oath as Tamil Nadu CM, says Centre will keep working with State

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay after he took oath as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, assuring continued cooperation between the Centre and the state government for the welfare of the people.

In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, “Congratulations to Thiru C. Joseph Vijay on taking oath as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Best wishes for his tenure ahead. The Central Government will keep working with the Tamil Nadu Government to improve the lives of people.”

Vijay, whose full name is Chandrasekhar Joseph Vijay, was sworn in as the 13th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu at a grand ceremony held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy in the presence of several political leaders, film personalities and supporters.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Vijay’s parents SA Chandrasekhar and Sobha Chandrasekhar, and actress Trisha Krishnan were among those present at the ceremony. Along with Vijay, nine TVK leaders also took oath as ministers in the party’s maiden cabinet. The ministers included N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, KA Sengottaiyan, KG Arunraj, P Venkataramanan, R Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, TK Prabhu and S Keerthana. Ahead of the ceremony, Vijay personally welcomed Governor Arlekar and introduced him to the ministers-designate.

The 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections marked a major political shift in the state, with TVK emerging victorious in its debut electoral contest by winning 108 out of 234 seats. The result ended the decades-long dominance of the DMK and AIADMK formations in Tamil Nadu politics.

Although TVK fell short of the majority mark on its own, Vijay secured support from Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML, enabling him to form the government. After staking claim, Vijay submitted letters of support from alliance partners to the Governor.

Popularly known as ‘Thalapathy’, Vijay drew massive crowds during the campaign, with several observers comparing his political appeal to former Chief Minister and actor MG Ramachandran. Since launching TVK in 2024, Vijay has positioned himself as an alternative to traditional Dravidian politics while advocating social justice, secularism and welfare-oriented governance.