Chennai:'Thalapathy' Vijay is safe, for now. The superstar actor - who upended Tamil Nadu politics by leading his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to victory in last month's election, breaking the DMK and AIADMK's 62-year stranglehold on the state's political landscape - was confirmed Wednesday as the new chief minister after winning a dramatic trust vote.

Vijay was backed by 144 lawmakers while 22 stood against and five sat on the fence. This was after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and its 59 MLAs walked out, and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's 47 were told to vote against.

"The whistle (the TVK's election symbol) has changed history," Vijay, who has now completed his cinema-to-politics arc, said after the result. "We will call ourselves a minority government… a government that will protect the rights of minorities."

The trust vote was required since the TVK did not have a majority after results were announced May 4. Vijay's party swept 108 of 234 seats - an incredible return for a young party in a state driven by a political binary - but 10 short of the mark.

The TVK quickly received support from the Congress - five seats - and, after four days of bargaining and suspense, secured eight more seats from the Left front, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and the Indian Union Muslim League.

Source:Ndtv