Vijay’s arithmetic falters, majority mark still out of reach, Saturday’s swearing-in called off | Political Pulse News
3 min readChennaiMay 9, 2026 01:39 AM IST First published on: May 8, 2026 at 11:23 PM IST What seemed like a done deal for Vijay’s TVK hit a speed bump on Friday evening as Tamil Nadu’s already volatile government-formation drama took another turn. For much of the day, TVK leaders and supporters believed the party had effectively crossed the 118-seat majority mark, with support from the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), and the expected backing of the VCK and IUML. Firecrackers burst outside Vijay’s Panayur residence, and party workers spoke openly of a swearing-in ceremony on Saturday morning. Then the arithmetic began wobbling again. VCK chief Thirumavalavan, who had publicly said his party would follow the Left parties’ decision on supporting TVK, had still not submitted a formal letter of support to Governor Rajendra Arlekar late into Friday night, leaving Vijay’s camp technically short of a majority. Sources in the Governor’s office said Vijay had only 116 MLAs on record in the meeting on Friday evening. The delay triggered fresh speculation across political circles, where rumours …
