Vijay successfully passed the confidence motion in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday with 144 MLAs backing his government. The required majority mark was 118, and despite some opposition from the DMK and PMK, Vijay comfortably crossed this threshold. The trust vote unfolded with empty benches in the opposition as the DMK and DMDK legislators staged a walkout, while several PMK and BJP MLAs abstained from voting.

Among the supporting MLAs, the AIADMK faction led by rebel leaders Shanmugam and SP Velumani played a significant role, contributing at least 25 votes. This AIADMK faction, which is at odds with party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, has 30 members out of the party's 47, with 25 of them choosing to back Vijay, signaling a major shift in allegiance.

Vijay’s party, which emerged as the largest in the assembly, also received support from five Congress MLAs and eight others from the Left parties, VCK, and Indian Union Muslim League. Despite the absence of many opposition members, only 22 legislators from the EPS camp voted against the motion, indicating a weakened opposition.

The main issue now is the deep split within the AIADMK, with the rebel faction still falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority to formally merge with the TVK and bypass the anti-defection law. Chief Minister Vijay addressed these developments, dismissing accusations of horse-trading while emphasizing his government's commitment to secularism and welfare schemes.