Published Apr 16, 2026 | 12:55 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 16, 2026 | 12:55 PM
Vijay has a huge fan following among children.
”If kids had voting rights, the TVK would win hands down,” a DMK leader said with a mocking smile while taking to South First. He didn’t say it without reason. For weeks now, he has been noticing a pattern — little hecklers of TVK who make it a point to assert their support, even in unrelated places.
Minutes after his confession, a school bus full of children, passing by the DMK election work station office in Perambur of Chennai rose in a chorus, chanting “TVK, TVK, TVK, TVK”. All of the chanting transpired in barely 30 seconds as the bus passed by but the incident stood as an example of what the DMK leader was trying to explain.
The script is all too familiar for DMK workers. Youngsters – sometimes even as young as 5 or 6 years old, shouting “TVK, TVK” while passing by a DMK’s road corner meetings or campaign events, or even offices. The hecklers of TVK are becoming a “cute nuisance” for other political parties’ poll events. One can’t really be annoyed by the tiny tots but the laugh they elicit from people gathered at the party event definitely isn’t an easy pill for party leaders.
This school bus full of Vijay fans started chanting his party’s name at a row of DMK cadres who were posing for a photo outside their election office. They reacted the only way one adult can at children gleefully jeering — awkwardly smile and shrug it off.
For some leaders, the awkwardness is too close home – literally. Take for example a young DMK election worker from Dindigal. His 8-year-old daughter was named by MK Stalin. When this DMK worker was off to Chennai to help “Stalin defeat Vijay”, the child apparently broke down in tears at her father’s “betrayal of Vijay”. Well, looks like DMK’s real challenge is when this lot of children turn old enough to vote in the next election or the one after that.
