Vijay Takes Oath as Tamil Nadu CM, Shares Selfie with Rahul Gandhi

After Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar swore in Vijay as the 13th chief minister of Tami;l Nadu at the Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium in Chennai, the superstar fished out his phone and took a selfie with Gandhi and other dignitaries on stage. He then turned and panned his phone camera to record a 360-degree video of the cheering crowd present at the oath-taking ceremony, capturing the special moment after his party's historic debut performance that ended the duopoly of DMK and AIADMK.

Vijay's parents, S A Chandrasekhar and Shobha, along with actor Trisha and others from the cinema industry, were among the invitees at the ceremony.

Along with Vijay who secured the support of 120 MLAs in the 234-member state Assembly, Arlekar also administered the oath of office to the new Cabinet of Vijay that includes ministers 'Bussy' N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, K A Sengottaiyan, K G Arunraaj, P Venkataramanan, C T R Nirmal Kumar, A Rajmohan, Keerthana and K T Prabhu.

The first time chief minister opted for a modern and formal look, donning white full-sleeved shirt, black suit and black trousers, departing from the traditional dhoti and shirt typically worn by politicians in the Tamil Nadu during the swearing-in ceremony.

The actor-turned-politician in his address immediately after being sworn in expressed gratitude to the public for his victory.

He gave a clarion call, "Come, let all of us together give Tamil Nadu a fresh new government. This is a new beginning, the start of a new era of secular, social justice.

As he began speaking, the venue of the ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai erupted in cheers.

"My dear people, my own family, I am not some divine messenger or prophet. I am just an ordinary human being living a normal life. I will never deceive you with false promises. I will only promise what is possible," Vijay said, stressing his humble background.

The TVK chief promised to fulfil the promises he made to the public ahead of the elections, and said that he is indebted to the Tamil Nadu people.

"Come, let all of us together give Tamil Nadu a fresh new government. This is a new beginning, the start of a new era of secular, social justice," the new chief minister said to resounding applause.

In an emotional speech, Vijay said," I do not come from a royal family. I am just like your son, your daughter, your elder brother, or your younger brother. That is how I see myself. And it was because you saw me that way that you gave me such a great place in the cinema."

In a nod to the support he recieved from the Gen Z voters, he said 'Vijay Mama' will always be there for them.

The 51-year-old was flanked by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the alliance partners -VCK, CPI and CPI(M), who extended support to the TVK to push it past the required majority mark to form the government in the State.

He thanked the top leadership of the Congress party, including Rahul Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary KC Venugopal.

The 2026 Tamil Nadu elections were registered in history books after the state declared an unprecedented mandate for Vijay. While TVK ended up winning 108 out of 234 seats in its maiden political stint, it was for the first time in the history of state politics that both legacy 'Dravidian' parties were ousted from power.

However, Vijay couldn't attain majority on its own and was later offered support by Congress (5), CPI-M (2), CPI (2), VCK (2) and IUML (2), which were earlier the allies of Secular Progressive Alliance led by DMK.

- ANI