Actor-turned-politician Vijay has overtaken incumbent MK Stalin as the preferred choice for chief minister among voters in Tamil Nadu, according to the latest forecast by Axis My India.
The poll by the pollster found that 37 per cent of respondents backed Tamil Nadu chief Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) as their choice for the next prime minister, putting him slightly ahead of incumbent Prime Minister M K Stalin, who received 35 per cent support.
EPS appears in third place, followed by others
Former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami was the third most favored candidate with 22 per cent of the votes, indicating a huge gap between the front two contenders.
Meanwhile, BJP leader K. Annamalai got just 2 per cent of the votes.
Sinthamizan Seeman of the Naam Tamilar Katchi Party received the support of 3 per cent of participants, while 1 per cent preferred other candidates or remained undecided.
Vijay’s TVK is showing strong potential in his debut
As exit poll forecasts were released on Wednesday, most pollsters pointed towards the incumbent Stalin-led MK government Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) returning to power in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Overall, forecasts point to a comfortable win for the ruling alliance.
At the same time, several surveys point to a notable TVK debut for actor Vijay, making him an important newcomer in the state’s political scene. But estimates vary between agencies.
According to People’s Pulse, TVK is expected to win between 18 and 24 seats in its first election round, while P-Marq has placed its tally at 16 to 26 seats. However, Axis My India gave a much higher estimate, predicting between 98 and 120 seats for the party.
The final result will be announced on May 4, when votes are counted across Tamil Nadu, along with West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.
