Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam wins 108 seats, falls short of majority

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam won 108 seats in Tamil Nadu, leaving party chief C Joseph Vijay 10 seats short of the 118 needed to form a government in the 234-member assembly. The governor's office said majority support in the legislature had not been established after Vijay met Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar again on Thursday.

Vijay and Arlekar

Vijay called on Arlekar on Wednesday to stake claim to form the next government, then met him again the next day. The governor's office later said that "the requisite majority support in the legislative assembly, essential for forming the government, has not been established".

Congress support

India's main opposition Congress party, which won five seats, pledged support for Vijay. TVK emerged as the single largest party in the state election, defeating the incumbent DMK led by MK Stalin, but the result did not deliver the majority needed to turn that lead into government control.

TVK since 2024

Vijay launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in 2024 and said he would retire from films to pursue politics full-time. The party's showing has left Tamil Nadu in a hung assembly, with support from 118 legislators still the test Arlekar's office has said must be met before Vijay can form the government.