3 min readChennai, New DelhiMay 5, 2026 10:00 PM IST
First published on: May 5, 2026 at 09:38 PM IST
The Congress said on Tuesday that it has received a request from actor-politican Vijay, whose Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won the most seats in Tamil Nadu, seeking its support to form a government in the state.
All India Congress Committee general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said that the Tamil Nadu Congress unit has been directed to take a final decision on the matter.
TVK President Thiru Vijay has requested the Indian National Congress for support to form a Government in Tamil Nadu. He has spoken about drawing inspiration from Perumthalaivar Kamaraj as well, in his political mission.
The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a… pic.twitter.com/OJXBA2Rb3k
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) May 5, 2026
“The president of TVK, Thiru Vijay, has requested the Indian National Congress for support to form a government in Tamil Nadu… INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu was for a secular government committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. INC is determined not to have the BJP and its proxies run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner,” Venugopal said after a meeting chaired by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as well as AICC in charge of Tamil Nadu Girish Chodankar.
“Thiru Vijay has spoken about drawing inspiration from Perunthalaivar Kamaraj also. Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Thiru Vijay’s request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state reflected in the electoral verdict,” Venugopal said.
Making its Assembly election debut, Vijay’s TVK defied all expectations to win 108 seats, leaving a significant gap to the ruling DMK, which came in second with 59 seats. However, with the TVK falling short of the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Assembly, attention has shifted swiftly from celebration to coalition-building.
By Tuesday morning, as Vijay visited his party office and convened a meeting with newly elected MLAs, the outlines of a coalition were already visible. Sources have indicated that under one proposed arrangement, the TVK-led government could include as many as two Cabinet berths for the Congress if the parties decide on a tie-up.
Congress sources in Tamil Nadu said on Tuesday morning that informal discussions had already started between the two parties. TVK sources say Vijay himself had, even during the campaign, been open to the idea of coalition governance — an unusual stance in a state where power has historically been centralised.
The proposed arrangement is likely to include the Congress receiving two Cabinet portfolios, with smaller allies getting one each. TVK is expected to allocate four to six ministerial positions to partners, both to secure numbers and to compensate for its own relative inexperience in governance. Apart from former AIADMK veteran K Sengottaiyan, most of Vijay’s winning candidates are first-time legislators.
