Vijay outpaces Stalin

Actor-turned-politician Vijay has delivered his biggest blockbuster in Tamil Nadu, recording one of the most striking electoral upsets in recent years, only two years after forming the TVK. Bagging 109 seats, his performance, like his films, was packed with suspense, notwithstanding the tragic stampede in Karur that claimed 41 lives on September 27, 2025.

Moreover, he has rewritten the southern State’s historical political trends, which have long been identified with Dravidian politics. Vijay not only won his seat from Perambur with a margin of over 49,000 votes but his debutant party outpaced both DMK and AIADMK across regions. The TVK on Monday emerged as a dominant force in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK won 42 seats, while the DMK won 38.

The BJP has secured four seats, the Congress two, and others account for eight. Vijay’s TVK has secured 34.82 per cent vote-share, while DMK 24.13 per cent. Vijay’s new outfit fell short of the magic majority mark of 118 seats, leaving it as a strong contender for the next chief minister.

Interestingly, TVK and Vijay differed from “mainstream” political parties and their conventional ways to seek votes. Vijay neither introduced candidates in all the constituencies nor toured all segments or vigorously campaigned in the traditional sense by addressing rallies. He neither met the press nor gave interviews and directly communicated to people via social media. Unusually, he focused on teens, youngsters and children to persuade their parents to vote for TVK.

What began as a high-profile political entry quickly turned into a full-blown electoral surge, with TVK gaining ground even in traditional strongholds of the Dravidian majors. This marks one of the rare instances in Tamil Nadu where voters have decisively moved away from the familiar DMK-AIADMK binary. Since 1962, no outsider had truly broken into this rhythm in a lasting way.