The voting for Tamil Nadu assembly elections is underway today, April 23, as voters set out to elect all 234 members of the assembly. What has usually been a bipolar contest between DMK and AIADMK has turned into a triangular contest with the entry of new entrant, Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
A party formed just 2 years back is making waves in local Tamil Nadu politics and is showing the potential of carving out a significant vote share for themselves and altering the balance of power, even if it is not in the position to seize power for themselves right now.
In February 2024, one of Tamil cinema’s biggest stars, Vijay looked to translated his mass appeal into a political platform that seeks to challenge both Dravidian majors DMK and AIADMK. Since then, TVK has rapidly built a youth-centric support base around themes of anti-corruption, governance reform, and social justice. The Vijay-led-party has repeatedly attacked the ruling DMK in the state since then. He has tried to position himself as the main opposition to DMK in Tamil Nadu though that may not be possible for now. However, will he be able to carve away enough votes out of DMK to alter the election results?
The TVK campaign has focused on wooing young voters and women voters, and targeting the anti-incumbency votes. Vijay has also attacked the ruling DMK of corruption, poor law and order, and failing to fulfill its electoral promises. He even went as far as calling DMK an evil force.
The mass crowds at Vijay’s rallies in Tamil Nadu rang alarm bells for the two established parties in the state, however, a stampede during a rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu, on September 27, 2025, put a stop to those mass rallies. The stampede resulted in at least 41 deaths and over 100 injuries.
Since then, Vijay has stuck to mostly road shows and door to door campaigning. However, his roadshows still continue to attract large crowds and the Kollywood star’s appeal was still evident on the ground.
He is himself contesting the polls from two seats, Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur, hoping to encash his popularity.
During his campaign, Vijay has targeted the youth voters prominently. After the recent Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls, nearly 40% of the total electorate of 5.67 crore is under the age of 39. A little over 17% are in the 20-29 age group and some 20% are in the 30-39 bracket. So if he can make a significant dent in that voter segment, he may well turn out to be the kingmaker on May 4.
For now, it is unclear whether he will hurt DMK more or AIADMK more by taking away anti-incumbency votes, but his party TVK has definitely made things interesting.
