Published Apr 21, 2026 | 12:15 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 21, 2026 | 2:30 PM
The euphoria around Vijay is real, but even his supporters are convinced that it is near-impossible to outdo the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu.
Synopsis: The euphoria around Vijay and TVK is real, but even those planning to vote for his party are convinced that it is near-impossible to outdo the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu that enjoy structural influence and conventional domination. By pitting a popularity contest against political clarity, the Assembly elections this time have made the state bypass all conventions.
On Thursday, 23 April, voters in Tamil Nadu will elect their new government. Unlike conventional elections, where party loyalty, ideological allegiances and generational voting patterns decide outcomes, the 2026 Assembly elections have pitted a popularity contest against political clarity, thanks to the debut of actor-turned-politician Vijay and his TVK.
Travel across Tamil Nadu, and you will see three types of voters: First, generational voters who won’t shift sides. Second, voters who have a great clarity on why they are choosing who they are choosing, by assessing the best possible political option. Third, voters blinded by their ideologies who have no logical reason for their choice of candidate, except that “they like” the leader/candidate/party.
All three sections of voters apply to the three key players in the electoral battlefield — the DMK, AIADMK and TVK. The third type of voters, however, is overwhelmingly true for Vijay’s TVK.
“I have been a lifelong Vijay fan. I garland his cutouts and celebrate his posters when his movies release. But he has just entered politics, let him work first. He can’t aim to be the chief minister immediately. Being a fan is different from being a voter,” said Bhaskar, an auto-rickshaw driver from Samathuvapuram in Hosur.
Some 316 kms away, in Chennai’s Perambur, where TVK chief Joseph Vijay is contesting, Roselyn Sujatha shared Bhaskar’s opinion. “Kids are pushing elders to vote for him, but he neither has the experience nor the political maturity,” the 59-year-old woman said.
Both Bhaskar and Sujatha are beneficiaries of schemes under different DMK governments. Bhaskar lives in a housing project named after social reformer EV Ramaswamy, aka Periyar, a social equality housing project envisioned by K Karunanidhi. Sujatha gets money transferred under Magalir Urimai Thittam, implemented by MK Stalin. While Sujatha’s family has always voted for the DMK, Bhaskar shifted his vote from AIADMK to DMK years ago. Their support for the parties stems from political clarity.
At Avinashi in Tiruppur, Tirumurthi — a generational AIADMK voter — is sure that the three votes in his family are for the TVK. The decision is partially due to the seat being given to the BJP under the NDA’s seat-sharing pact, and also because he would not want to support the DMK.
Yet, he isn’t convinced that his vote will help TVK win. “Do you know, a sea of humanity converged when Vijayakanth died. I was there. I told the people there that if these many people voted for him when he was alive, he could have been the chief minister,” Tirumuthi said, recalling former Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly and founder of DMDK, Vijayakanth, who was also an actor-turned-politician.
In Namakkal, Jagadish, a supporter of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) and an engineer working in Singapore, is semi-amused that his wife Keerthana is voting for Vijay but can’t recall the candidate’s name. Savitha, a voter in Erode West, is all charged up about TVK but isn’t convinced the debutante party will win. It’s a split house between ideological alignment and cinema fandom, pouring into political choices.
“There is no point in freebies like free bus and money for women. If the government controls price rise and ensures jobs for all, people’s lives will automatically develop,” Savitha told South First.
She doesn’t want to vote for a party that announces “freebies” but is fine when Vijay announces welfare schemes. Her sheepish smile when reminded about TVK’s “freebies” was revealing.
Bhagyalakshmi from Tiruchirappalli city, Lakshmi from Cheyyur in Chengalpattu, Meenakshi, an accountant, and her son Radhakrishnan from Perambur, Preethi, a student from Porur, Victor from Krishnagiri and many more did not attempt to hide the fact that they are voting for Vijay, irrespective of the TVK’s candidate in their respective constituencies. The reason is that they are Vijay’s “big fans”. There is no critical reasoning, ideological inclination or assertion of a political alternative. It is simple, plain popularity. As if it were a reality show where voters vote for their favourite contestant.
Balaji, a poultry supplier in Tiruchirappalli East, apparently, has seen through the noise around TVK. “This is mindless voting with no application of logic,” he said. Balaji felt Vijay was manipulating young voters with just popularity and no real political promise.
“He is promising the moon without stepping on the ground,” he mocked. A lifelong AIADMK voter, Balaji is backed by his colleague Subramaian on the conventional parties’ understanding of Tamil Nadu better.
A line of shops near the Tiruchirappalli bus stop narrates the story of livelihoods disrupted by a new bus stand that made no space for the vendors.
Lokambal, a flower vendor near the bus stop, is miffed with DMK for uprooting her shop from the old bus stand. “What’s the point of a free bus ride if my livelihood has been snatched away from me?” she asked. Her resolve is to vote for TVK and make Vijay the chief minister. Behind her, songs from Vijay’s movies blared from a juice shop, a constant campaign for the TVK chief contesting from the seat.
Murugan, an auto-rickshaw driver from Erode West, can’t forgive DMK for denying his family benefits under any scheme or ensuring jobs for his sons.
For Santha of Vepanapalli in Krishnagiri, DMK utterly failed to protect women.
“Little girls, as young as three, are being raped and killed. Where is the safety for women?” she asked with a lot of angst.
Santha doesn’t know if Vijay will do better, but is convinced that DMK won’t and AIADMK, sans Jayalalithaa, isn’t an option. Several women in different constituencies echoed Santha’s concerns.
A spike in drug abuse, crimes against women and children, caste crimes and atrocities against the marginalised are gravely concerning issues, according to several voters across Tamil Nadu. While AIADMK and TVK have also been highlighting these issues, DMK has been pointing to statistics to drive home the point that the state has been performing better than others.
Although the euphoria around Vijay and TVK is real, even those voting for his party are convinced that it is near-impossible to outdo the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu that enjoy structural influence and conventional domination. It seems that turning an Assembly election into a battlefield where popularity clashes with political clarity has made the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2026 bypass all conventions. It is a unique situation.
