Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday, May 10, was elected leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) legislature party, as the party moved to reorganise its Assembly leadership following the formation of the new government in Tamil Nadu.
The announcement came a day before the newly elected MLAs are scheduled to take oath in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday, May 11. The DMK also named senior leader KN Nehru as the deputy leader of the legislature party and EV Velu as the party whip in the Assembly.
The appointments were announced through a party statement after a series of internal consultations within the DMK leadership following the Assembly election results, which produced a fractured mandate and triggered major political realignments in the state.
The DMK had convened a meeting of its newly elected MLAs on May 7 at Kalaignar Arangam in Anna Arivalayam under the leadership of party president and former Chief Minister MK Stalin. During the meeting, the party passed four resolutions, including one sharply criticising the Congress for withdrawing from the alliance after the election results and another authorising Stalin to take all political decisions on behalf of the party.
The political developments unfolded after the C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly elections with 108 seats but failed to secure a majority on its own in the 234-member House.
In the days that followed, the Congress became the first party from the DMK-led alliance to extend support to the TVK, helping Vijay stake claim to form the government. The CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML later also announced outside support to the Vijay-led government, allowing the TVK to cross the majority mark comfortably.
Vijay was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday morning at a ceremony held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Vijay and members of his council of ministers.