The Tamil Nadu assembly elections 2026 results threw a surprise for many, as actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single-largest party in the state.
However, the TVK fell short of the majority mark of 118, with the party formed in 2024 winning 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly.
The ruling DMK managed alliance managed 73 seats while the NDA came a distant third with 53.
With no single party or alliance winning enough seats to form the government, it is natural to wonder what will happen next in Tamil Nadu.
Will Vijay become the first non-DMK non-AIADMK chief minister of the state since 1967? Who will he tie up with? Here are the possible scenarios:
TVK takes smaller parties with it
One thing Vijay and the TVK could do is to take the smaller parties from the DMK alliance with them to form the government.
The party needs 10 MLAs to form the government. The smaller parties (including Congress) in the DMK alliance have 14.
HT earlier reported that a section of Congress wanted a pre-poll alliance with the TVK and could still support Vijay with its five members.
The two Left parties (CPI and CPI(M)) each have two legislators. If these go with the TVK, Vijay would need just one more to form the government, which the Dalit-centric Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) could provide.
DMK+ supports TVK
The other possible scenario is that the entire DMK+ alliance supports TVK, and Vijay becomes the chief minister without much difficulty.
This is both mathematically and politically plausible, as it won't impact the broader opposition alliance on the national level.
The AIADMK factor
Another way this could go is if the opposition AIADMK supports TVK in forming the government.
But there has been no indication of that either. In fact, public statements have largely been contrary to the TVK and AIADMK coming together.
