New Delhi: The much-awaited third meeting of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay and Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Arlekar is underway in Chennai. The party, which won 108 seats in the recently-concluded state assembly election, has stitched together an alliance with support from the Congress party and outside support from the Comunist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M).It has also bagged the support of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which won 2 seats in the recently-concluded election. IUML president Kader Mohideen said in a statement supporting TVK that the party’s MLAs would extend support in whatever manner required by the Governor and cooperate in the process of government formation.VIDEO | Tamil Nadu: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay meets Governor Rajendra Arlekar in Chennai.(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/6fjpsbzvhy— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 8, 2026The tally of the TVK is now over the halfway mark of 118 in the Tamil Nadu assembly, meeting the criterion set by the Tamil Nadu governor on Thursday.Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) is also likely to extend support to Vijay’s party, which would take the overall tally to 120. VCK won two seats in the election.Before meeting the governor, Vijay visited the CPI office, and met with the party’s state secretary, M. Veerapandian.VIDEO | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: “We told him to give people good governance,’ says CPI state secretary M Veerapandian after TVK chief Vijay visited the party headquarters in Chennai.(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7)#Chennai pic.twitter.com/LNlz0mm6S5— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 8, 2026Earlier today, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court of India, reportedly by a lawyer member of the TVK, seeking directions to Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Arlekar to invite Vijay, the party chief, to form government.LiveLaw reports that a writ petition has been filed in the top court by Advocate Ezhilarasi P, identified as a member of TVK, seeking directions that the governor does not invite anyone other than Vijay to form the government.The suspense over government formation in Tamil Nadu lasted through the third day on Friday (May 8) with governor Arlekar asking TVK supremo Vijay to submit the proof of at least 118 MLAs before his swearing-in ceremony as chief minister could be held.With the CPI and CPI(M) both extending support to his party on Friday evening, adding four more seats to the TVK’s kitty of 108 seats, in addition to support from five members of the Congress and the IUML, the surprise winner of the Tamil Nadu election is now one legislator ahead of the majority mark.Vijay was told on Thursday by the Tamil Nadu governor that he did not have the 118 seats required to form government. This sparked widespread criticism of gubernatorial overreach. Political parties and others said the TVK has to demonstrate its support in the legislative assembly and that the governor must invite it, as the single-largest party, to test its strength on the floor of the house.Outside support of Left partiesSpeaking during a joint press conference at Chennai, M. Veerapandian and P. Shanmugam, the State-unit leaders of the CPI and CPI(M) respectively announced on Friday, “We will not join the TVK Cabinet; our support will be from the outside. We will continue to travel with the DMK in the struggle to oppose communal forces and protect Tamil Nadu’s rights.”Both parties announced their decision and released their letters of support for the TVK, addressed to the governor.CPI Extends Unconditional Support to TVK for Government Formation in Tamil Nadu@actorvijay @TVKVijayHQ #CPI #TamilNadu #Vijay #TVK pic.twitter.com/E871f7x5Wu— CPI – Communist Party of India (@CPI_National) May 8, 2026The CPI(M) extends its support to the TVK under the leadership of C. Joseph Vijay to form the government in Tamil Nadu. pic.twitter.com/PVg2hZZ6HN— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) May 8, 2026Other reports say the VCK has been in discussions for a berth in a future Vijay Cabinet.Developments on May 8Press Trust of India reported that for Vijay will meet the governor once again on Friday evening, which will be the third meeting between the TVK chief and the governor after the assembly election results were declared on May 4.TVK supporters staged a protest outside the Lok Bhavan in Chennai on Friday while demanding that the governor invites Vijay, whose TVK has emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member state assembly, to form the government. The state Congress too held protests on Friday against the governor and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government on Friday.The governor’s move raised concerns over gubernatorial overreach, as Vijay had staked claim to form the government a day earlier, as the leader of the single largest party.Earlier, Indian Express had reported that several allies of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are considering joining TVK to form the government in Tamil Nadu.While the TVK has 108 MLAs, the VCK, CPI (M) and CPI have 2 MLAs each. If Vijay gets the support of these 6 MLAs, then, with 5 MLAs of the Congress, which has already pledged support to him, the TVK-led alliance can go past the majority mark and form a government with 119 MLAs. The VCK too has called a meeting on Friday to decide on allying with the TVK.The CPI convened a meeting of its state executive committee on Friday to take a call on supporting the TVK post-poll to form the government, the party has said. M. Veerapandian, the party’s Tamil Nadu secretary has said that his party would respond to TVK chief Vijay’s letter seeking support. So far, the CPI and CPI (M) have indicated that they may extend support to TVK, reported PTI.On the other hand, speculations are also rife about a possible understanding between arch rivals Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and AIADMK. The Congress has slammed both the AIADMK and its former ally DMK over the reports. The rumours include the possibility of the DMK giving outside support to an AIADMK-led government to keep Vijay from becoming the chief minister.While the DMK has won 59 seats in the assembly elections, the AIADMK has 47 legislators.“Two Dravidian parties. Lifelong enemies. Became one overnight. Not for Tamil Nadu. Not for secularism. To stop one single man, Vijay. Congress saw it clearly. It exited. You cannot lie down with the B-team of RSS/BJP and call yourself secular,” said Congress MP from Virudhunagar Manickam Tagore, reported Hindustan Times.He also accused the BJP of trying to “buy time and MLAs” by using the governor.“In a democracy, people decide who will form the Government…BJP is using governor to ‘buy’ Time and MLAs. Don’t worry, people are with us and buyers like you will have egg of their face,” added Tagore.Earlier on Thursday (May 7), DMK chief and outgoing chief minister of Tamil Nadu M.K. Stalin had told the newly-elected party legislators that the state was witnessing “rapidly changing political developments” and that the party leadership was examining multiple proposals emerging from within the party, reported The News Minute.On Thursday, governor Arlekar had informed Vijay that “requisite majority support in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, essential for forming the Government, has not been established”.In response to Arlekar’s decision on Thursday, Congress leader Girish Chodankar had said the Governor must invite the single largest party to form the government. He told the media that a majority can only be tested on the assembly floor. He also accused the BJP and RSS of attempting indirect influence despite the BJP having just one MLA in the assembly.Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. Selvaperunthagai had called for protests across district headquarters on May 8, alleging that the governor was acting against the constitution by attempting to prevent TVK from forming the government.