TVK will hold its first state-level conference next month, says Vijay

He is expected to split votes in the state where 75% of the vote share is shared between Dravidian majors DMK and AIADMK

Actor Vijay on Friday announced that his fledgling party Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) will hold its first state level conference in Villupuram district’s Vikravandi on October 27. TVK’s ideology, policies and leaders will be announced during the conference, he said.

Vijay (PTI)

The political arithmetic in the 2026 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu will change with Vijay– who enjoys a cult following in cinema among the Tamil masses – making his electoral debut. In a state where matinee idols have straddled politics either successfully or unsuccessfully, Vijay is the latest entrant.

So far Vijay has treaded the Dravidian ideology paying tributes to the movement’s founder E V Ramasamy (Periyar) and DMK’s founder C N Annadurai who are considered icons in the state’s politics. Vijay has also taken a position against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) which all parties in Tamil Nadu except the BJP want abolished. Vijay supported a resolution passed by the ruling DMK government in the assembly on June 28 demanding that the Union Government scrap NEET by amending the National Medical Commission Act.

He is expected to split votes in the state where 75% of the vote share is shared between Dravidian majors DMK and AIADMK. “Vijay may receive the votes of those dissatisfied with the DMK and AIADMK,” says political analyst Maalan Narayanan. “If he joins hands with the opposition parties such as AIADMK or other smaller regional parties that could be trouble for the ruling DMK.” S Seeman whose Tamil nationalist party Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) was the third largest party in the 2021 assembly elections who has always vowed to never align with either of the Dravidian majors has previously hinted at his inclination to align with Vijay.

Vikravandi, where Vijay’s conference will be held went to a by-poll in July after the death of the DMK MLA and the party retained its seat. Vijay launched TVK earlier in February. In a surprise move, his fans entered the political fray under the Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam in the rural body polls held in October 2021. They won 115 out of the 169 seats from where they contested—a 68% strike rate. Though the number is small scale, in their debut election, they managed to outdo actor Kamal Hassan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM who have now joined the DMK) and Seeman’s NTK as they both drew a blank. The ruling DMK swept the rural body polls held in nine newly carved districts.