CHENNAI: On expected lines, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay led TVK government has passed the first hurdle in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, winning the trust vote on the floor of the House with 144 ‘ayes’. While 22 MLAs voted against the confidence motion, and five abstained.
BREAKING – #ThalapathyVijay passes the Floor Test with the support of 120 MLAs. Kamaraj from the #TTV camp continues to support #TVK.
TVK – 106
Congress – 5
CPI – 2
CPI(M) – 2
VCK – 2
IUML – 2
Kamaraj MLA – 1 #PremalathaVijaykanth has spoken against the… pic.twitter.com/0WxdBuEX0D— Movies Singapore (@MoviesSingapore) May 13, 2026
Ahead of Wednesday’s (May 13, 2026) vote, leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin led a walkout of all the DMK MLAs, after giving a speech criticising the TVK government. He assailed Mr. Vijay for meeting AIADMK rebels on Wednesday (May 13, 2026), and questioned if what is happening is “change” or “exchange”.
Meanwhile, commotion also broke out in the House as rebel AIADMK leader SP Velumani led all the rebel MLAs to vote in favour of TVK.
AIADMK declares Edappadi K Palaniswami (general secretary of the party) as the Legislative Party Leader and issues an official whip to all party MLAs to vote against the TVK government during the floor test The party has warned that any MLA who votes against the whip, abstains or remains neutral could face action under the anti-defection law and risk disqualification.
AIADMK declares Edappadi K Palaniswami as the Legislative Party Leader and issues an official whip to all party MLAs to vote against the TVK government during the floor test
The party has warned that any MLA who votes against the whip, abstains or remains neutral… pic.twitter.com/DXBfod8gMX
— Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) May 13, 2026
Earlier, DMK, left, DMDK and others opposed the appointment TVK spokesman and Vijay’s astrologer as OSD to CM.
One of the netizens said, “TVK is set to prove its majority in the Assembly today, while the DMK is expected to abstain from the floor test. A faction of AIADMK MLAs led by SP Velumani is likely to vote in favour of Vijay. DMK calculates that abstaining from the floor test will help it retain its image as the main opposition party without looking desperate for power, while also avoiding responsibility for either toppling the government or helping it survive”.
TVK is set to prove its majority in the Assembly today, while the DMK is expected to abstain from the floor test. A faction of AIADMK MLAs led by SP Velumani is likely to vote in favour of Vijay.
DMK calculates that abstaining from the floor test will help it retain its image as…
— Vinodh Arulappan (@VinodhArulappan) May 13, 2026
AIADMK MP I.S. Inbadurai tweeted, “The AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the Legislative Party, EPS has appointed the official whip. Any AIADMK Legislative Assembly member who acts in violation of the orders issued by this whip will undoubtedly be subject to the anti-defection law under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.”
AIADMK MP I.S. Inbadurai tweets, "The AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the Legislative Party, EPS has appointed the official whip. Any AIADMK Legislative Assembly member who acts in violation of the orders issued by this whip will undoubtedly be subject to the… pic.twitter.com/RrOZ4i1Q4i
— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2026
AIADMK split is 25-22. CVeShanmugham, SP Velumani group is only 25 and they voted in favour of the Govt. Edappadi group is 22, and they voted against the Government.
AIADMK split is 25-22. CVeShanmugham, SP Velumani group is only 25 and they voted in favour of the Govt. Edappadi group is 22, and they voted against the Government.
— Badri Seshadri (@bseshadri) May 13, 2026
AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran has expelled his party’s lone MlA Kanagaran from party after support to TVK in floor test assures for stand by CM Vijay.
VIDEO | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: AMMK MLA Kamaraj dismissed from party after support to TVK in floor test, assures to stand by CM Vijay for five years
Source: Third Party
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/tQ3UU3oaPs
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 13, 2026
Meanwhile, the apex court’s three-member bench on May 13 stays an order passed by the Madras HC on 12th May restraining TVK Tirupattur MLA R Sreenivasa Sethupathy from participating in any of the voting proceedings (including the trust vote) in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi also stayed all further proceedings before the High Court pursuant to an appeal preferred by the MLA against the interim order passed by the High Court following a writ petition filed by DMK former Minister K.R. Periakaruppan who had lost to the MLA by just one vote. Justice Vikram Nath asked how can the High Court entertain a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution in an election matter. Justice Mehta said, it was atrocious”.
BREAKING Supreme Court stays an order passed by the #MadrasHighCourt yesterday restraining TVK Tirupattur MLA R. Sreenivasa Sethupathy from participating in any of the voting proceedings (including the trust vote) in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Justices Vikram Nath,…
— Mohamed Imranullah S (@imranhindu) May 13, 2026
The appointment of Rickey Radhan Pandit Vettrivel who was appointed to the post of Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Vijay has come under spotlight as an RTI application has been filed seeking details about the OSD credentials.
Tamil Nadu government has appointed Rickey Radhan Pandit Vettrivel as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Chief Minister (Political). The order was issued by the Public Department, and the appointment will take effect from the date of joining. pic.twitter.com/p5ijLJFCo1
— IANS (@ians_india) May 12, 2026
In a related development, a summer vacation Bench of Justices L. Victoria Gowri, N. Senthilkumar of Madras High Court has agreed to hear tomorrow a writ petition to be filed today challenging the appointment of Rickey Pandit Vetrivel as the Officer on Special Duty (Political) to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay.
