Tamil Nadu finally has a new chief minister, C. Joseph Vijay, after some days of unseemly wrangling inspired by the questionable conduct of the governor, R.V. Arlekar. The days after his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) stellar performance in the assembly elections witnessed the wildest of rumours—including one that had a post-poll alliance of DMK and AIADMK in the fray. The fact that even together they had fewer seats than TVK seemed to be no issue. Defection, after all, is now