3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 9, 2026 09:31 AM IST
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s decision to delay the swearing-in of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay as Chief Minister puts the spotlight back on the debate pitting the Governor’s gubernatorial discretion against the democratic mandate of the people.
Conventionally, the single largest party stakes its claim and is invited to form the government, and prove its majority on the floor of the house. However, Governor Arlekar is learnt to have asked Vijay to submit proof of support from at least 118 legislators — the majority mark in the 234-member Assembly. TVK currently has 108 MLAs; with Congress’s five-member support, the number rises to 113.
The Constitution on Governor’s powers
Article 164 of the Constitution says the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister, and that the ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor.
To exercise this power, the Governor invites the party that has the people’s mandate and stakes a claim to form the government. The Governor then fixes a time to administer the oath of office to the Chief Minister designate. A pro-tem speaker is appointed, usually the senior-most legislator among the elected, to administer the oath to the MLAs and conduct a floor test.
Supreme Court rulings
The single-largest party convention has been reiterated several times in judgments of the Supreme Court. Given the fraught political nature of the Raj Bhavans, opposition parties have sought the Court’s intervention in staking a claim to form the government.
In 2018, the Congress party and JD(S) knocked on the Supreme Court’s doors at midnight after Governor Vajubhai Vala scheduled the swearing-in of B S Yediyurappa as the Karnataka CM. The Congress and JD(S) had announced a post-poll alliance though the Governor invited the BJP, the single largest party, to form the government. The Governor had also given the BJP-led government 15 days to prove its majority on the floor of the house.
However, then CJI Dipak Misra heard the case through the night but refused to stay the swearing in. A day later, the Supreme Court also advanced the floor test to 36 hours after allegations of horse-trading and locking up of MLAs in resorts were brought to the court’s notice. Ultimately, the BJP-led government failed the floor test, and the Congress-led alliance formed the government.
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In May 2016, involving a similar crisis in Uttarakhand as well, the SC had underlined the floor test as the “ultimate” option and directed then Congress CM Harish Rawat to prove majority on the floor of the house.
Former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar told The Indian Express that the Governor’s move to delay the swearing-in is “a graceless stratagem.”
“The exercise of Constitutional prerogative by the Governor cannot be seen at odds with the spirit of the mandate and the political morality that underpins democratic politics. Constitutional conscience owes no apology to technicalities. Delaying the swearing in of Vijay is a political outrage and a constitutional heresy,” he said.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
