Chennai: Vijay’s TVK, which emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly with 108 of 234 seats, was positioned to form the next government in Tamil Nadu. But, a last-minute reconsideration by smaller parties has thrown a spanner in the works.
Vijay met Governor Vishwanath Arlekar Friday. This was their third meeting since results were announced on 4 May.
Meanwhile, both the DMK and the AIADMK have dismissed the possibility of an alliance.
Stay tuned to ThePrint for the latest on Tamil Nadu government formation.
Tamil Nadu | HIGHLIGHTS
11 pm: Deadlock continues
With reports suggesting IUML, AMMK and VCK are reconsidering their support for TVK, the deadlock over government formation in Tamil Nadu is likely to spill over into Saturday.
Read this report by Shweta Tripathi to know more.
7 pm: Vijay meets Governor
Vijay met the Governor to stake claim to form the government after the Congress, CPI and CPI(M) extended support to TVK.
#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: TVK chief Vijay meets Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and stakes claim to form Government in the state.
(Video Source: Tamil Nadu Lok Bhavan) pic.twitter.com/SleWYzzvZm
— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2026
5.45 pm: Stalin urges Governor to break deadlock
DMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin has publicly appealed to Governor Arlekar to break the deadlock over government formation.
In a post on X, Stalin wrote: “The existing Legislative Assembly has already been dissolved, and His Excellency the Governor has issued the proclamation to that effect. In such a situation, it is not only the compulsion of the times but also the most important duty of democracy that a new government must be formed for the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly to take their oaths of office and to advance the welfare of the state!”
தமிழ்நாடு சட்டமன்றத் தேர்தல் முடிவுகள் வெளியாகி, மக்களால் தேர்வு செய்யப்பட்ட சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர்களின் பட்டியலைத் தேர்தல் ஆணையம் வெளியிட்டு விட்டது. ஏற்கனவே இருந்த சட்டமன்றத்தையும் கலைத்து மாண்புமிகு ஆளுநர் அவர்கள் ஆணையும் பிறப்பித்து விட்டார். இப்படியொரு நிலையில், தேர்தலில் வென்ற…
— M.K.Stalin – தமிழ்நாட்டை தலைகுனிய விடமாட்டேன் (@mkstalin) May 8, 2026
5.10 pm: CPI confirms support to Vijay’s TVK
The Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) have sent letters to the Tamil Nadu Governor extending unconditional support to Vijay’s TVK to form the next government.
“DMK leader has never said to oppose TVK to form government. He has said that DMK will be in the opposition party in the Assembly. We are independent parties, we have taken our decision. Why should we ask the other party’s opinion for our party’s decision,” CPI(M) state secretary TT Shanmugam told the media in Chennai.
“VCK has also said that they will take the same decision, as CPI and CPI (M). VCK is also giving their support to TVK,” he added.
5 pm: No apologies for backing TVK, says Congress MP
Congress MP Manickam Tagore says the party is not in any way apologetic for breaking from the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) to extend conditional support to Vijay’s TVK.
In a post on X, Tagore said, “Congress supported TVK — to respect the people’s mandate, to form a stable government, to keep NDA OUT.”
“So tell me , should Congress have helped NDA come to power?! TVK has been anti-BJP from day one. Congress stood with that. No apologies,” he wrote.
RG called Stalin.
RG called Mamata.
On result day itself.
Next morning — RG backed Mamata publicly.
Said BJP stole 100 seats in Bengal.
Congress supported TVK — to respect the people’s mandate, to form a stable government, to keep NDA OUT.
And now — Godi media blames Congress.…
— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) May 8, 2026
4.15 pm: TVK claims majority; Vijay seeks time with Governor
TVK functionary Kamaraj tells media persons that the CPI, CPI(M) and VCK have decided to extend support to Vijay’s party.
“Vijay is going to meet the Governor at 4.30 pm to stake claim to form the government. We are very happy to see that CPI, CPI(M) and VCK have accepted the people’s mandate to form the government and make Vijay the CM of Tamil Nadu.”
Read this report by Shweta Tripathi to know more.
4 pm: Police detain TVK supporters protesting outside Lok Bhavan
Chennai Police have detained TVK supporters who were staging a protest outside Lok Bhavan, the Governor’s residence, demanding that Vijay be invited to form the government as the head of the single largest party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Police detain TVK supporters agitating outside Lok Bhavan in Chennai, amid the political developments over party chief Vijay's swearing-in suspense. pic.twitter.com/xYPwMRuOVv
— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2026
The election results threw up a hung assembly even as actor-politician Vijay’s TVK stunned the Dravidian parties, ending the DMK-AIADMK three-decade duopoly in Tamil Nadu politics. AIADMK won 47 seats, while DMK won 57.
TVK, short of the majority by 10 seats, has been scrambling to stitch an alliance.
3.30 pm: Congress-DMK break spills over
The DMK-Congress break spilled over Friday as DMK MP Kanimozhi wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requesting a change of seating arrangement in the Lower House.
“In view of the changed political circumstances and as our alliance with the Indian National Congress has come to an end, it may not be appropriate for our Members to continue occupying the present seating arrangement alongside them in the House,” it read.
2.45 pm: Congress, BJP & CPI(M) react
Girish Chodankar, Congress Tamil Nadu in-charge tells media persons in Chennai that Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s decision to not invite Vijay to form the next government as an “attack on democracy, Constitution and public mandate”.
Doubling down on Congress party’s decision to extend conditional support to TVK, Chodankar told media persons during a protest on Mount Road that the party cannot “backstab” the public mandate.
State Congress president K. Selvaperunthagai, who was also present for the protest, added, “We are protesting against the Governor”.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran issued a statement Friday saying the party “wholeheartedly accepts the election results”.
“…we believe that the people have not given the BJP any opportunity or power to form the government in Tamil Nadu in this election. We deeply respect the will of the people of Tamil Nadu and the election results. Therefore, the Tamil Nadu BJP does not want to be associated with any attempt to form a new government in Tamil Nadu. The party does not want to take any direct part in any attempt to form the government. Furthermore, we inform the people that we will not vote for any party that is involved in the attempt to form the government,” the statement added.
Earlier in the day, CPI general secretary told news agency ANI that TVK should be allowed to form the government and that the Governor must abide by “established conventions”.
The statement came shortly before the CPI and CPI(M) held an executive meeting to discuss whether they would support Vijay. They have two seats each.
2.30 pm: AIADMK leader dismisses talk of tie-up with DMK
Nirmala Periyasamy, a former newsreader who has been with the AIADMK since 2013, dismissed the possibility of a tie-up between the DMK and her party.
“These are just rumours…” she told media persons Friday in Chennai when asked about whether her party would consider coming together with arch political rival DMK to form the government if Vijay’s TVK, which emerged as the single largest party with 108 of 234 seats, is unable to secure the support of enough MLAs to prove its majority on the floor of the House.
#WATCH | Chennai | When asked if an alliance between the DMK and AIADMK could be formed, AIADMK leader Nirmala Periyasamy says, "These are just rumours…" pic.twitter.com/50969DnYC6
— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2026
2.10 pm: ‘If Vijay can’t form govt, we’ll see’
Asked if the alliance between DMK and AIADMK could be formed, DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan said he doesn’t know.
“There’s no such idea as of now… The Governor has given time until the 10th. We’ll have to wait and see. If he (Vijay) can’t form the government, we’ll reconsider, talk to our allies, and decide,” he said.
On outside support for AIADMK, he said. “They’re (TVK) trying. Let’s see what happens. Only then can we think of an alternative.”
1.40 pm: BJP says it’s not ‘obstructing’ TVK govt
BJP is not obstructing the formation of a TVK-led government in Tamil Nadu, BJP leader L. Murugan told the media Friday.
1.30 pm: BJP claims Congress will ‘end up with egg on its face’
BJP General Secretary B.L. Santhosh wrote on X that the Congress’s move to support TVK instead of its traditional ally, the DMK, won’t end well for the party.
“Only time will tell who will form the government in Tamil Nadu, but one thing is for sure… the Congress will end up with egg on its face,” Santhosh wrote.
There’s been widespread criticism of the Congress’s decision. Veteran party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar called it “dreadful” and a move that smacked of “low political opportunism”.
Aiyar told PTI that if the decision facilitates backdoor entry of a “communal BJP” into Tamil Nadu, then it would prove to be the worst own goal in the history of political football.
Aiyar said he cannot imagine the fathers of the Indian National Congress blessing such “politics of expediency”.
Congress’s decision to jump ship into an alliance with the TVK, which tool “us on in the 23 assembly segments that we lost” was “dreadful”, he said.
1.15 pm: Congress, TVK continue protest against Governor
Tamil Nadu Congress and TVK functionaries were protesting in Chennai Friday against Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for not inviting Vijay, whose party won the most seats in the state assembly, to form the next government,
The party supporters protested outside Lok Bhavan in Chennai.
“Vijay will take charge. DMK has been totally rejected. The public gave its vote to Vijay. DMK has no ground. The Governor must take some appropriate action,” a supporter told ANI. Another fan said he was eagerly waiting to see Vijay as the CM.
It’s been four days since results were declared on 4 May.
On Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu Governor invited Vijay to Lok Bhavan, but did not formally ask him to form a government. Reports said Arlekar asked Vijay about the “magic number” and to present details about legislators backing the TVK.
Vijay and other parties have argued that his majority should be proven on the floor of the state’s assembly after he is invited to form a government and becomes the chief minister.
1.00 pm: Other parties react
Congress MP Jothimani said of the speculation on X, “The enemy of the enemy is a friend. How can an enemy and enemy be friends? Historical mistake. Tamil Nadu will never accept this.”
VCK’s Thol Thirumavalavan told ANI, “It is just speculation. We’ll wait and see.”
12.45 pm: Mixed signals from DMK camp
DMK’s M.K. Stalin was holding a meeting with senior DMK leaders at party office Anna Arivalayam in Chennai amidst talks of an alliance with AIADMK.
But DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan denied the possibility of such a tie-up, saying: “I don’t think it is possible because we, DMK and AIADMK, are the major enemies in Tamil Nadu politics.”
Separately, DMK MP Kanimozhi stressed that the electorate’s decision should be respected.
“It is people’s mandate, and in democracy, what people decide is supreme. Unfortunately, it is not a very lear mandate, but whatever it is, we have to respect it,” she told PTI. On reports of backing the AIADMK, she said: “It’s speculation. We cannot respond to speculation. I belong to DMK; I cannot be answering for what the AIADMK says.”
Unconfirmed reports say that the DMK has asked AIADMK to break away from its ally, BJP, because the Left and others within Stalin’s party were uncomfortable of being part of a “communal” alliance.
12.00 pm: AIADMK drops hint—’My party will come back’
Much of the speculation about the DMK backing AIADMK was based on AIADMK MP M. Thambidurai’s remark Fridat that his party will come back to power in Tamil Nadu.
Thambidurai told reporters, “So many discussions are going on. I cannot say anything now. We hope good things will happen. My party, my leader will come back. There is a public sentiment that AIADMK has to come to power. That may happen in the due course of time with the grace of God.”
Also Read: How did we miss the Vijay phenomenon in Tamil Nadu?