Chennai (PTI): Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Saturday appointed TVK chief C Joseph Vijay as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and and the leader will take oath on Sunday, the Lok Bhavan said.

The swearing-in of the Vijay-led ministry will be held on Sunday at 10 am here at Nehru Stadium.

Vijay was appointed CM after he presented letters of support from the VCK and the IUML who have two MLAs each. The governor held talks for about an hour over the requisite support.

According to a Lok Bhavan press release, Vijay was appointed the chief minister by Governor Arlekar as per the provisions of the Constitution. The governor also invited Vijay to form ministry.

Further, Arlekar asked Vijay to seek the vote of confidence on or before May 13.

The TVK chief met the governor along with Congress top leader K Selvaperunthagai and leaders of supporting parties including the CPI(M) State Secretary P Shanmugam.

Taking into account support from VCK and IUML, who have 2 seats each, the TVK's seat tally has now touched 120 in the 234-member Assembly.

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Bhubaneswar (PTI): Five people were killed and 31 injured in separate road accidents in Odisha, police said on Saturday.

Three persons were killed and one injured when a truck hit two motorcycles and a scooter on National Highway-16 passing through Bhubaneswar on Saturday evening, the police said.

The accident took place on the overbridge near Fire Station Chhak when four persons - two youths in one bike, one elderly man in another bike and one woman in a scooter - were on the way from Saheed Nagr to Khandagiri.

The police said three persons died on the spot, while the elderly man sustained critical injury and was rushed to a hospital for treatment. The impact of the accident was so severe that the skull of the woman was thrown on the road, they said.

However, the truck which hit the two wheelers fled from the accident site and was yet to be located. The police were yet to ascertain the identity of the deceased persons.

The accident caused a severe traffic jam on the NH-16 connecting Kolkata and Chennai.

Earlier on the day, two persons were killed and nearly 30 others injured in separate road accidents in Ganjam, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts in a span of 24 hours, police said.

In Ganjam district, a bus carrying around 30 pilgrims from Polasara to Puri collided head-on with a truck near Bali Dhaba on Kodala-Khalikote Road early on Saturday morning.

The truck driver was killed in the accident, while 15 others sustained injuries.

"The injured were shifted to Kodala hospital and two of them were later referred to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur," a police officer said.

In another accident in Mayurbhanj district, an SUV carrying wedding guests overturned after colliding with a truck on National Highway-18 near Nandasol Chhak within Betanati police station limits.

In all, 13 people were injured in the accident and admitted to PRM Medical College and Hospital in Baripada, police said.

In Sundergarh district, a motorcyclist was killed on the spot, while two others were seriously injured in an accident near Ghoghar Bundel jungle within Talsara police station limits on Friday night.

The trio was on its way to attend a wedding party, police said.