LIVE | Muslim League warns Cong over Kerala CM delay; Vijay surprises leaders

The recent election drubbing has resulted in an internal rift in the AIADMK, with the MLAs divided over extending support to the ruling TVK in Tamil Nadu, while signs of revolt against party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami were also visible.

Having contested 167 out of 234 constituencies, the party was able to secure only 47 seats.

In the wake of the poll results, a series of MLA meetings chaired by party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami were held.

According to AIADMK sources, while one section of the party strongly opposed extending support to the TVK in government formation, another faction advocated providing outside support to the Vijay-led party.

A few MLAs also demanded that Edappadi K Palaniswami step down following the party's poor electoral performance.

Several senior leaders and former ministers, including C V Shanmugam and S P Velumani, along with their supporting MLAs, skipped the meetings chaired by Palaniswami.

Party insiders said Shanmugam, Velumani and their supporters have shown interest in backing the TVK.

Premalatha Vijayakanth, General Secretary of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and newly elected MLA from Virudhachalam greets Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin during the Tamil Nadu Assembly proceedings.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday (May 11) congratulated his Tamil Nadu counterpart TVK chief C Joseph Vijay on taking the oath of office.

"It should not have come to this (about the delay in swearing in). It took three to four days and several visits to Lok Bhavan, but finally the (majority) numbers were achieved," Abdullah told reporters.

He said as per Supreme Court rulings, the governor should have invited the single largest party or the single largest pre-poll alliance to prove majority.

"And the majority is proved on the floor of the house, not in the Lok Bhavan. Anyway, it is better late than never," he added.

Abdullah said Vijay has been given few days to prove his majority. "We hope that he will prove his majority," he said.

As the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief, a popular actor-politician, signalled a governance style rooted in transparency and social responsibility, during a charged-up speech delivered to a packed Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, observers were closely following his words and dissecting them.

The Federal spoke with R Bhagwan Singh, a senior journalist who has followed Tamil Nadu politics for decades, to understand the new chief minister's inaugural priorities and the challenges ahead.

Read the excerpts from the interview here

S Keerthana could not be sworn in as an MLA during the Tamil Nadu Assembly session after reportedly failing to bring her election victory certificate to the oath-taking ceremony.

The 29-year-old minister represents the Sivakasi constituency in Virudhunagar district and created history in the 2026 Assembly elections by becoming the first woman MLA from the constituency, ending nearly 70 years of male dominance there. She is also the youngest member of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s cabinet.

Veteran Tamil Nadu politician K A Sengottaiyan took oath as an MLA, representing Gobichettipalayam, carrying a photo of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in his shirt pocket, a symbolic tribute to the late AIADMK leader under whom he rose to prominence.