Actor Vijay's TVK Party Challenges DMK-AIADMK Dominance in Tamil Nadu Elections

Actor Vijay's new political party, TVK, is shaking up Tamil Nadu's election landscape, challenging the traditional DMK-AIADMK dominance. With a massive fan following, particularly among young women, TVK is fielding candidates in nearly all constituencies, aiming to influence outcomes in closely contested seats.

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.

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 TN's voter demographic works for Vijay's TVK. Young women like Sunitra, in a state where 29.3 m of the 57.3 voters are women, are a key component of Vijay's support base.