Following elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government.

Following elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government.

The current seat of the assembly is at Fort St. George in Chennai.

The first election to the assembly on the basis of universal adult suffrage was held in January 1952.

[17] The state emblem was designed in 1949 and consists of the Lion Capital of Ashoka without the bell lotus foundation and flanked on either side by an Indian flag with an image of a Gopuram or Hindu temple tower on the background.

There are two inscriptions in Tamil language displayed around the rim of the seal runs.

Inscribed at the bottom is வாய்மையே வெல்லும் ('Vaymaiye Vellum') which translates to "Truth Alone Triumphs" and derived from the words "Satyameva Jayate" in the Indian emblem.