Vijay seals authority with emphatic trust vote victory

TVK secures 144 votes as AIADMK rebels trigger fresh political turmoil

- BY ALEX ABRAHAM

Actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay yesterday comfortably won a trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, formally consolidating the rise of his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party and marking a dramatic reshaping of the state’s political landscape beyond the traditional DMK-AIADMK binary.

The TVK government secured 144 votes in the Assembly during the floor test, far exceeding the coalition’s official strength of 120 MLAs, after a section of AIADMK legislators appeared to defy the party whip and back the new administration. Twenty-two MLAs voted against the motion, while five abstained. The DMK staged a walkout before voting, reducing the effective strength of the House.