Actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay appeared poised to rewrite Tamil Nadu’s political landscape on Monday as his party, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), surged ahead in more than 100 of the state’s 234 Assembly constituencies. Early counting trends showed the AIADMK trailing behind with leads in nearly 70 seats, while the ruling DMK-led alliance slipped to third place with around 51 constituencies. TVK candidates were performing strongly across several regions, indicating a sweeping statewide wave in favour of Vijay. The momentum was so overwhelming that by around 10 am, only three out of the state’s 34 ministers were reportedly maintaining leads in their respective seats.
The election trends also delivered major setbacks to the DMK’s top leadership in its traditional strongholds. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin were reportedly trailing behind TVK candidates in Kolathur and Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni constituencies in Chennai, both considered key bastions of the ruling party. Political observers noted that the rise of TVK signalled a dramatic shift in Tamil Nadu politics, which has long been dominated by the DMK and AIADMK. Vijay’s rapid political ascent has attracted comparisons with legendary actor-politicians who successfully transformed cinematic popularity into electoral success in the southern state.
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If TVK manages to cross the majority mark of 118 seats, Vijay would enter an exclusive league of film stars who rose to power shortly after launching their political movements. Analysts have already started comparing his rise to that of N.T. Rama Rao and M.G. Ramachandran, who formed governments within months and a few years respectively of founding their parties, TDP and AIADMK. A victory for Vijay would also make him the third major actor from Tamil cinema to become Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa, both of whom enjoyed massive public support and left a lasting impact on the state’s political history.