Hit or not, TVK's Vijay shakes up Tamil Nadu poll scene

Tirunelveli: Women, many of them holding children, wave their arms and jump in joy when they see him during his road show; some even cry. Joseph Vijay’s entry has shaken the political scene in Tamil Nadu unlike previous elections.

Most assembly election results in Tamil Nadu were easy to predict until recently. With just two parties—the DMK and AIADMK—being relevant, it was often quite clear which way the wind was blowing. That familiar pattern has changed this time with the entry of one man, actor Vijay, and his TVK party.

Vijay does not have the organisational strength of the DMK or the AIADMK. But the 51-year-old has a fan following in the hundreds of thousands that could influence the outcome of the election.


“My daughter, Sunitra (25) is a fan of his…she keeps discussing with us on why we need to vote for Vijay. She says what’s the harm in giving him one chance,” said Armugham, a farmer in Thiruvenganathapuram village in Tirunelveli. “While she is definitely going to vote for him, I have not yet made up my mind,” he said.

Such organic word of mouth campaigns within families are taking place all over Tamil Nadu. The party is also politically astute. Aware that it is being projected as a party that would eat into opposition votes against the DMK-Congress alliance, TVK functionaries are making every effort to present it as a serious contender, claiming that the actual battle is between the DMK and the TVK and not the DMK and the AIADMK.

The TVK has fielded its candidates in 233 of the state’s 234 assembly constituencies. Vijay is contesting at two places—Perambur in Chennai and Trichy East—while the party is supporting an independent at Edappadi in Salem district where the nomination papers of its candidate were rejected on technical grounds.

Vote balance

Out of the 234 constituencies, the winning margins in as many as 120—or more than half the seats—were less than 20,000 votes in 2021. Even if the TVK secures 10,000 votes in such constituencies, it might upset the calculations of the DMK and the AIADMK.

There are several reasons why Tamil Nadu’s voter demographic works for Vijay’s TVK. Young women like Sunitra, in a state where 29.3 million of the 57.3 million voters are women, are a key component of Vijay’s support base. She also comes in the age group of 18-40 that Vijay is targeting. This group has around 23.8 million voters.

This is why Vijay’s campaign has largely been focused on youth and what he could do for them if he comes to power. He has promised Rs 4,000 per month to unemployed graduates aged over 29 years and collateral-free educational loans up to Rs 20 lakh. A Rs 15,000 stipend for mothers or guardians of children in government schools and creation of half a million new government jobs are among other major promises.

While Vijay’s entry initially was seen as helping the AIADMK-BJP alliance as he was supposed to take the anti-incumbency vote, things are not as simple on the ground. His supporters are across all parties. In the case of Armugham, the Tirunelveli farmer, his family has traditionally been AIADMK supporters.

Vijay is not just drawing the votes of his fans, but also those who are tired of voting for either the DMK or the AIADMK, or their alliance partners.

One of these parties has been ruling the state for several years now, said Manoj from Vikramasingapuram in Tirunelveli district. “At the end of the day our circumstances have not changed. So, it makes sense to vote for someone else this time.”

Besides targeting youth, Vijay is also resorting to a tactic that has always worked in the state: promising freebies. The TVK has promised a farm loan waiver if voted to power, six free LPG cylinders a year, Rs 2,500 monthly pay-outs for women and Rs 200 units of free electricity per household.

Title role or guest appearance

In Tamil Nadu politics, Vijay’s entry is invoking comparisons with another actor-politician, MG Ramachandran, who founded the AIADMK by splitting the DMK and defeated the parent party in 1977 to become the chief minister.

On May 4, Tamil Nadu would come to know whether Vijay would do a repeat of what MGR did or it would be a guest appearance leaving an impact on either the DMK or the AIADMK.