C Joseph Vijay was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday (May 10). Ending the suspense on Tamil Nadu government formation, Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor RV Arlekar at Lok Bhavan after his party secured the majority mark to form the government. The governor reportedly cancelled his trip to Kerala and met Vijay. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, where Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office.
Rajinikanth declines to comment on CM Vijay
On Tuesday (May 12), Rajinikanth was spotted arriving at the Chennai airport. As per a video shared by news agency PTI, as Rajinikanth made his entrance, he faced a few reporters. When one of them asked him about the landmark news of Vijay becoming the new CM of Tamil Nadu, Rajinikanth offered no comment. He smiled, folded his hands and walked ahead.
Rajinikanth had wished Vijay on May 4, the day when the results of the Tamil Nadu elections were declared. “My congratulations to Thiru Vijay, President of the victorious Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, and to the members of his party, on their resounding victory in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections,” he had written.
TVK caused a major political earthquake in Tamil Nadu by beating both Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the two main players in the state for decades. TVK, which created a record by winning 108 seats in its debut assembly polls, went on to amass the support of 120 MLAs in the 234-member assembly. The majority mark in the assembly is 118. Vijay has joined the league of iconic actor-turned-leaders like NT Rama Rao, MG Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa. He received congratulatory messages from several film personalities on social media.
Several stars from the film industry took to social media to cheer for Vijay. Director Sibi Sathyaraj tweeted, “ஜோசப் விஜய் எனும் நான்! Congratulations to our Chief Minister @TVKVijayHQ Anna for creating history.” Sandeep Reddy Vanga wrote, “This is what CINEMA can do, it can move people, shake systems, and turn presence into POWER. Here CINEMA stepping off the screen and owning the ground. Not hype. Not noise. Real power. My deepest heartfelt congratulations to @actorvijay sir and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.”
Rajinikanth’s political career
In December 2020, Rajinikanth announced that he will start a political party in January 2021 to contest in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. However, he cancelled his plans to enter politics, saying a health scare had been “a warning from God” “I will serve the people in whatever ways I can, without entering electoral politics,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Rajinikanth was last seen in Coolie. He will be seen next in Jailer 2 and in a film co-starring Kamal Haasan. Jailer 2 is an action-comedy that is a sequel to Nelson’s 2023 hit film Jailer. Rajinikanth returns as ‘Tiger’ Muthuvel Pandian, while Ramya plays his wife, Vijaya ‘Viji’ Pandian. Jailer explored how Tiger is forced to come out of retirement when his family’s safety is threatened, and his son goes missing while investigating a smuggling case.