Actor-Politician Vijay's Party TVK Emerges as Single Largest in Tamil Nadu Elections

Actor-politician Vijay threw a surprise in Tamil Nadu elections as his party emerged as the single largest party in the state. Vijay is leading on both the seats in Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East. The two seats are held by the DMK and were chosen by Vijay as key battlegrounds for his electoral debut, pointing to a split verdict in the initial rounds.

Perambur, Assembly constituency no. 12 in North Chennai, falls under the Chennai North Lok Sabha seat. The constituency has around 2.22 lakh voters and remains one of the city's prominent urban segments. The seat has largely favoured the DMK in recent years. In 2021, DMK's R.D. Sekar secured 52.53% of the vote, defeating PTMK's N.R. Dhanabalan, who received about 25.10%. The constituency has seen shifts earlier, including an AIADMK win in 1991.

Television coverage has highlighted Perambur as a direct contest after Vijay chose it for his debut, taking on the DMK in a stronghold area. Perambur has a dense population with working and lower-middle-class voters. The presence of industrial areas and older residential neighbourhoods gives the constituency political significance. This profile is seen as important for a party that is projecting itself as a people-focused platform.

Vijay is also contesting from Tiruchirappalli East, another seat currently held by the DMK. Early trends, however, showed him trailing in this constituency. His decision to contest from two non-safe seats indicates an attempt to test support across different regions of Tamil Nadu. Vijay's party, TVK, has fielded candidates in all 234 Assembly constituencies. Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East are being positioned as key contests representing north and central Tamil Nadu. The early trends suggest a divided response, with results expected to become clearer as counting progresses.