Published Apr 19, 2026 | 11:00 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 19, 2026 | 11:00 AM
Actor-turned-politician Vijay during poll campaigning for TVK.
Synopsis: Actor-turned-politician Vijay is making his electoral debut in Tamil Nadu in the upcoming Assembly elections. Voices from the ground indicate that the nascent party is snatching away anti-incumbency votes, along with some generational voters from Opposition parties, with its promises of change. By the looks of it, the AIADMK seems to be the most affected by Vijay’s entry into politics.
42-year-old Gnanasoundari, a homemaker from Shoolagiri in Tamil Nadu, has a “two-leaves” — the official party symbol of AIADMK — tattooed on her right forearm.
“My family has always voted for ‘Amma’s party’,” she said, referring to the late J Jayalaithaa. “But I voted for DMK in the last election. The free bus service and ₹1,000 per month under the Magalir Urimai Thittam are very useful for me. Now I have completely shifted to DMK,” she told South First.
Right next to her at the village bus stop was KP Muniswamy — another generational AIADMK voter. However, this time around, he and his family, consisting of eight voters, are supporting actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK). “Let us give him a chance and see what he does. The same two parties have been elected to power repeatedly. It is time for a change,” he said.
Phrases such as “one chance”, “for change”, “he will make things better”, “let new people get power” are now repeated on the lips of lakhs of voters, including first-time voters, in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 23 April polling for the Assembly elections. It’s a cheat code, implying that they are backing Vijay in this election.
Also Read: TVK set to poll massively in Tamil Nadu, but enough seats are a distant dream
Even before ballots are cast for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, there is enough indication of who is losing the most this election. Voices from the ground suggest that the AIADMK, perhaps, has never felt the absence of J Jayalithaa this deeply. Several women voters and older voters of the party seem to be shifting to TVK, citing her absence.
The Edappadi Palaniswami-led AIADMK, a non-cohesive BJP and Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) are seemingly the collateral damage in Vijay’s entry into Tamil Nadu politics. That is not to say that the ruling DMK isn’t losing votes to TVK. It definitely is. However, the TVK is snatching away voters of NTK, AIADMK and BJP in larger numbers than DMK voters.
“I have been a lifelong DMK voter. At one point, I had my house painted in DMK colours of Red and Black. Today, I am not just voting for TVK, but I am also actively encouraging my family to do the same,” said Shanmugam, a 64-year-old from Erode West.
Kowsalai, an Article Assistant from Karur, will be voting for the second time on 23 April. “I cast my first-ever vote for Seeman’s NTK. This time, maybe Vijay is a better option since he is promising a lot of good for the people. I don’t want to vote for either the DMK or the AIADMK, so Vijay is a good choice,” she told South First with great clarity, something that is missing in most people asserting their support for Vijay.
For most people, support for Vijay comes from their love for him as an actor, not as a politician with ideological clarity or public accountability.
Vijay’s entry into politics has generated a buzz among his fans. In most constituencies, voters cannot even recall the name of TVK’s candidate but are sure that they want to “vote for Vijay”. This euphoria, rooted in fandom rather than logical analysis, is irritating parties like NTK, which have worked hard to build a presence and vote bloc.
Murugesan, a vegetable farmer in Krishnagiri and a NTK district committee member, is miffed by women and youth who want to vote for Vijay’s TVK. “What has he done for people? Seeman fights for people’s causes and encourages youth to live a life of self-respect. Those supporting Vijay are doing so blindly, without applying their mind. They are unable to differentiate between an actor and a policymaker,” he fumed.
Barely 20 km away, Vasu, who runs a barber shop, is disappointed about the BJP sidelining Annamalai. “I was drawn to the BJP because of Annamalai. Now, he is neither contesting nor active in the party. I would rather support Vijay now,” he noted. Choice of BJP candidates in seats like Avinashi is driving AIADMK votes to TVK.
Also Read: Who will TN’s Kongu region choose?
TVK is violently splitting the anti-incumbency votes in two ways. One, drawing huge support from first-time voters — generally seen as anti-establishment and not influenced by cash and caste. Opposition parties that were hoping to add a big chunk of first-term voters into their kitty have been left disappointed.
While NTK is also a youth-centric party, Vijay’s popularity is decimating its support base.
Two, TVK is also splitting swing voters and a section of generational voters from parties like AIADMK, NTK and BJP alongside DMK.
“If Vijay or TVK were not in the fray, AIADMK would have won this election in a landslide, given the anger against the DMK government. Unfortunately for us, Vijay is very strongly splitting votes, and a majority of them are anti-incumbency votes — votes that would have come to us,” an election in charge of AIADMK in the Kongu region told South First.
AIADMK is now banking heavily on the promises of its irrigation schemes in regions like Avinashi, Erode and Coimbatore to bring them electoral returns from rural voters.
The DMK, however, has an advantage that no other party in Tamil Nadu has — a “buffer”. DMK, on its own, won 133 seats and got 37.7 percent of the total vote share in the 2021 Assembly elections. The DMK-led coalition won 159 seats with a vote share of 45.3 percent.
This election, even if the DMK-led alliance loses 4–5 percent vote share to Vijay’s TVK or other parties, it would still likely command the highest vote share and eventually, a better seat conversion ratio. DMK is also heavily relying on its welfare schemes to help retain votes.
The NTK and BJP may be losing considerable votes to TVK, but the party with the biggest stakes and taking the biggest hit would undoubtedly be the AIADMK. Edappadi Palaniswamy will perhaps commandeer the party to win the second-highest number of seats, but, going forward, things are getting tougher for AIADMK.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
