Tamil Nadu Government Formation Live Updates: Vijay visits AIADMK MLA Shanmugam’s residence

The DMK on Tuesday strongly refuted allegations made by AIADMK leader and former minister C Ve Shanmugam regarding alleged post-poll alliance talks between the DMK and AIADMK, saying he was attempting to create confusion and “find a reason to split” his own party.

DMK organising secretary R S Bharati said Shanmugam’s remarks were baseless and asserted that the Dravidian major had no such discussions. He also claimed that Shanmugam had instead decided to support a Vijay-led TVK government, and was making such statements for political reasons.

Reiterating the party’s position, Bharati said DMK president M K Stalin had already made it clear that the party would function as the opposition. “I had already said after the election results that these are speculation and rumours. We clarified our position the very next day itself. This continues to be our stand,” he added.

Speaking in the Assembly, Leader of Opposition & DMK leader, Udhayanidhi Stalin said that the CM received wishes from our leader and many other leaders and that this political civility should continue in this House as well. "Even if we sit in different rows as ruling government and opposition, we all should work together for development of Tamil Nadu." He further said that the Opposition parties have raised concerns after the Tamil Nadu state song was played after Vande Mataram. "But at the West Bengal CM oath-taking ceremony, Vande Mataram was not played. But here it was played. You all know who is the Governor there. The government should not allow this to happen again. Our Tamil Nadu state song should never pushed to the second spot." He went on to add that Vijay and him studied in the same college and would like to share their experience and knowledge.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday hailed the "deep" ties between his country and Tamil Nadu, as he congratulated actor-turned-politician Chandrasekar Joseph Vijay on becoming the southern Indian state's new chief minister. In a post on X, Ibrahim said for many years, Vijay's "adoring fans watched him defeat corrupt politicians and assorted villains within three hours, usually after a short interval".

TVK legislator JCD Prabhakar elected as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

Signs of an internal split within the AIADMK became visible on Monday as the party’s newly elected MLAs arrived at the Tamil Nadu Assembly in separate groups for the oath-taking ceremony of the 17th Legislative Assembly. Party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami entered the Assembly along with a group of MLAs led by former ministers K P Munusamy and Thalavai N Sundaram, while another faction headed by former minister S P Velumani and accompanied by Dr C Vijayabaskar arrived separately shortly after. Former minister C Ve Shanmugam was also absent during the initial arrival.

The contrasting entry of AIADMK legislators stood out as party members traditionally assemble and enter the House together. The development comes amid growing unrest within the party following its poor performance in the April Assembly elections, where it secured only 47 seats. Rumblings over a possible leadership change have intensified in recent days.

The emotional moment of the day came when AIADMK MLA K Mohan broke down while taking oath after seeing a large portrait of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa displayed inside the Assembly. Calling out “honourable revolutionary leader Amma”, the legislator was visibly emotional before completing the oath formalities. Earlier, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay became the first member to take oath in the House.

The AIADMK appears to be heading into a fresh phase of internal turmoil following its crushing defeat in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with divisions emerging within the party over whether to support the ruling TVK government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. Having contested 167 of the state’s 234 constituencies, the party managed to win only 47 seats, triggering intense discussions and blame games within the leadership.

A series of meetings chaired by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami reportedly exposed sharp differences among party MLAs. While one faction strongly opposed extending any support to the Vijay-led government, another group favoured offering outside support to the TVK. Sources also said a few MLAs openly demanded Palaniswami’s resignation following the party’s poor electoral performance.

Signs of rebellion became more visible after several senior leaders and former ministers, including C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani, skipped the meetings convened by Palaniswami. Party insiders claimed that both leaders and their supporters are inclined towards backing the TVK government, further deepening uncertainty within the AIADMK ranks.

Senior DMK leaders, Udhayanidhi Stalin meet party chief MK Stalin in his house before taking oath as MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, nine other ministers, former chief ministers including Edappadi K Palaniswami and newly elected MLAs on Monday took the oath of office in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, officials said.