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How Vijay wanted no 'slave' alliance, then gathered 5 allies: Tamil Nadu gets its first post-poll coalition govt
The 2026 election resulted in a hung assembly for the first time in the state's history, with no party or pre-poll alliance getting a majority.
When C Joseph Vijay addressed his party's second state conference in Madurai last August, he made clear his disdain for alliances, in their existing form at the time at least. “I don't have the need to join any slave alliance.” He declared to a packed crowd. He said if his the TVK would ally with anyone at all, “It won't be a selfish alliance; it'll be a self-respect-oriented alliance."
He chose to go it alone in the assembly polls held in April 2026, and on May 10 became chief minister, making some interesting history — his is the state's first post-poll coalition government, stitched together after a tense week of negotiations with parties he had not campaigned with, some of whom had actively campaigned against him.
There appears to be an irony, but the arithmetic meant it had to happen.
The TVK — founded by a superstar actor who once had an ester egg in his movie about becoming CM in 2026 — won 108 seats, becoming the single largest party in the 234-member assembly.
Ten seats short of majority, Vijay had to do what no winning party leader in Tamil Nadu has had to do since the Dravidian era began in 1967; he had to go looking for support after the votes were counted.
Fear of President's rule, 'BJP by backdoor': How ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay got the support he needed to become Tamil Nadu CM
First time in seven decades
The 2026 election resulted in a hung assembly for the first time in the state's history, with no party or pre-poll alliance getting a majority.
And every government formed in Tamil Nadu since 1967 — whether by DMK or AIADMK, whether alone or with alliance partners — was backed by a pre-poll coalition that had collectively crossed the majority mark before a single vote was counted.
That is no longer the case. In the Dravidian parties' many decades in power, even when the senior member, the DMK or AIADMK respectively, would have majority on its own, it would give space in the government to other pre-election partners.
The period between the Madras State's linguistic reorganisation in 1956, when Tamil Nadu as such was formed, and the start of Dravidian politics in 1967 offers no coalition precedent either. The 1957 election — the first after the reorganisation — saw the Congress under K Kamaraj win comfortably. In 1962, Kamaraj, whom Vijay has cited among his idols, won again.
That election remains the most recent in which the Congress formed a majority government in the state. Both were single-party majorities. No post-poll negotiation, no coalition.
Hence, what makes 2026 categorically different is not just the numbers, but how Vijay got there.
What Vijay said before elections
The TVK went into the election entirely alone and, as recently as March 18, Vijay dismissed all speculation about entering any of the two main alliances, the DMK-Congress-led ruling alliance, and the main challenger NDA of AIADMK and BJP plus others.
"Many people are spreading rumours that we are part of one team or another. But they have now realised that we belong only to the people," Vijay said in March.
After the result, when he had to seek the support he said he won't need, the Congress, part of the rival DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance during the election, moved first with its five MLAs. The CPI and CPI(M) followed. The VCK and IUML, both formally still part of the DMK-led alliance, held out until May 9 before offering support. Most of them said they wanted to keep the BJP and its allies out, and did not want President's rule either. That means TVK plus five parties as the ruling alliance.
VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan said, "Our ties with the DMK will not get affected due to our stand, but it will help Vijay to form the government and also prevent President's Rule in the state."
What got Vijay the numbers
That last concern was real. The tenure of the outgoing assembly formally ended on May 10, the same day as the swearing-in eventually happened. No government by then would have meant President's Rule, not as a political threat but as an automatic constitutional consequence; and allegedly also meant “BJP rule by backdoor” as it's the Centre's ruling party.
The coalition that assembled around Vijay was thus driven as much by this shared anxiety as by any shared conviction.
The final count: TVK's effective 107 seats — Vijay won two constituencies and must vacate one — plus Congress (5), CPI (2), CPI(M) (2), VCK (2) and IUML (2), totalling 120. Past majority.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, whose Congress was the first to move, attended the swearing-in at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. On X, he posted photos with Vijay and wrote: “Tamil Nadu has chosen. A new generation. A new voice. A new imagination. My good wishes to Thiru Vijay — may he fulfil the hopes of the people of Tamil Nadu.”
Speaking after taking oath, Vijay thanked his allies before addressing the people directly.
"I will not deceive people with false promises. I will only do what is possible," he said.
After four rounds of meetings with Governor RV Arlekar, Vijay took oath, and now has to prove his majority on the floor of the House by May 13.
