TVK Chief Vijay Resigns From Tiruchirappalli East Seat After Taking Oath As Tamil Nadu CM

TVK Chief Vijay on Sunday resigned from the Tiruchirappalli East Assembly constituency after taking oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, retaining the Perambur seat that he also won in the April 23 Assembly elections.

With Vijay vacating one of the two seats he had secured, his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) saw its tally in the 234-member Assembly reduce from 108 to 107 seats.

According to an official statement, Vijay submitted his resignation before formally assuming office as Chief Minister. The resignation letter was sent to Assembly Secretary K. Srinivasan through ministers K.A. Sengottaiyan and P. Venkataraman.

In his first address after taking oath, Vijay asserted that there would be “only one power centre” in his government and attempted to project himself as a leader from an ordinary background.

“There is only one centre here, the centre under my leadership. One power centre here, another there, nothing like that exists,” he said.

The actor-turned-politician said he was well aware of poverty and hunger, recalling that he was born to a simple assistant film director who struggled hard to achieve success in cinema.

“I do not come from a royal dynasty. I am one among you, a member of your family. I feel like your son or brother,” Vijay said, adding that his government would usher in a new era committed to “true secularism and social justice.”

Vijay took oath as Chief Minister in a grand ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in the presence of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

His swearing-in marks a major political shift in Tamil Nadu, with the state witnessing its first government in six decades led by a party other than the DMK or AIADMK.