The deadly September 2025 Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) stampede failed to cloud the popularity of its president, actor-turned-politician ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay, as the party looked to register a historic electoral victory in Tamil Nadu in its maiden elections.
The counting of votes for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections began at 8 am and soon after the trends emerged and so did TVK as the single largest party. Track Vijay’s ‘Thalapathy’ election result live here
According to Election Commission of India data at 4:30 pm, TVK was leading or leading in more than 105 seats, while the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party was struggling to make gains by 58 seats.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) led in 45 constituencies.
The Karur stampede in September 2025, which occurred during a massive rally linked to Vijay’s political outreach, briefly shifted focus from his political rise to concerns about the intensity of fan-driven politics.
More than 40 people were killed and dozens injured when supporters rushed during the event.
Despite a campaign marred by memories of deadly stampedes, Tamil Nadu’s expected results reflect Vijay’s massive following, turning the tide in TVK’s favor in a stunning debut party show.
TVK positioned itself as a strong contender in the Dravidian heartland of Tamil Nadu through its manifesto which focused on key groups such as women and unemployed graduates.
Monthly newsletter from $2500 per woman in Tamil Nadu, $10,000 for unemployed graduates, cooperative crop loan waiver, ministry for artificial intelligence – Vijay’s TVK made a host of promises targeting the southern state’s women, farmers, and younger population in its manifesto.
These promises seem to have been well received by voters in Tamil Nadu.
Win is in business since 2009
Vijay’s victory is the result of a carefully engineered political rise that has turned the loyalty of the masses into a formidable electoral machine – a moment that has been years in the making.
The actor, popularly known as ‘Thalapathy’, started restructuring his fan base as early as 2009, turning it into Vijay Makkal Iyakkam – a grassroots network that has steadily built a booth-level presence through social welfare work and local engagement. This groundwork paid off in the 2021 local body elections, as the network showed that it can translate popularity into votes, not just crowds.
The actor’s political messages also developed alongside this organizational construct. Public appearances increasingly focused on issues such as unemployment, education, corruption and governance, and resonated strongly with young and aspiring urban voters.
By the time he officially launched TVK in 2024, Vijay had already positioned himself as a credible alternative to MK Stalin’s entrenched DMK and the AIADMK, rejecting alliances and demanding a clean and independent state.
The crucial turning point came when Vijay announced his retirement from films in December 2025, ending a three-decade-long journey to fully commit to politics. Over the next few months, TVK expanded rapidly, building district and district-level structures while refining its campaign narrative around accountability and systemic change.
His rise inevitably invites comparisons with M G Ramachandran, the last film star to rise to power in 1977, although the context is sharply different. While MGR rode a populist wave, Vijay’s rise was driven by governance fatigue and generational aspirations. Unlike J Jayalalithaa, who inherited an existing political structure, Vijay built his party from the ground up.
The welfare-heavy statement targets women and young people
The TVK statement also laid out ambitious plans for employment and education, including unemployment benefits for graduates, and collateral-free loans of up to $20 lakhs for students and stipends for skill training. Major job creation efforts included a plan to employ five thousand young people at the village level, along with incentives for companies that hire local workers.
Farmers were promised cooperative loan waivers and legally guaranteed minimum support prices, while broader administrative reforms included the Right to Service Law and a Citizen’s Concession Card to simplify access to social welfare schemes.
The party has also put forward forward-looking ideas such as creating a dedicated ministry for artificial intelligence, suggesting a mix of welfare policies with a development-oriented agenda.
