Tamil Nadu: ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay and TVK’s stunning performance in poll debut

“If I feature decided (on a guinea pig) for formerly, I, myself, testament non listen to my words anymore” (oru vatti mudivu pannitena, en pechai naanae ketka mattan) was the famous dialogue of Tamil actor C Joseph Vijay in the blockbuster hit ‘Pokkiri’.This popular dialogue echoed among fans as the superstar made his political debut as the president of his political outfit Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) two years ago.Two years later, Vijay’s stunning performance in his first election means that he successfully turned his energetic fanbase – his rallies attracted huge crowds -- into votes.As of 11am, TVK was leading in over 100 seats in the 234-member state assembly.Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, popularly known as “Thalapathy (meaning Commander)” was born in 1974 in Chennai to the yesteryear actor-director S A Chandrasekhar (80) and Shoba Chandrasekhar (69).Having completed his school education in Kodambakkam also home for film industry leaders in Chennai, Vijay enrolled for a visual communication degree at Loyola College but later dropped out to pursue his film interest.In the initial stages of his film career, Vijay acted as a child artist in the 1984 Tamil movie ‘Vetri’, a film directed by his father. Vijay’s first major film was ‘Naalaiya Theerpu’ in 1992, which cemented his position in the Tamil film industry, then largely dominated by superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. While this film did not perform as expected at the box office, Vijay bagged an award for his role as a newcomer.The actor’s first major breakthrough was the blockbuster hit Poove Unakkaga in 1996 directed by Vikraman. Some of his notable films include ‘Love Today’, ‘Kadhalukku Mariyadhai’, ‘Thulladha Manamum Thullum,’ ‘Kushi’, ‘Priyamaanavale’ and ‘Friends’. Vijay’s fan base gradually grew as he became a prominent and bankable star in the industry.Besides his versatile acting skills, Vijay also emerged as a prolific singer, having sung for various famous composers including legendary music director Ilayaraja and double Oscar winner A R Rahman.After taking the plunge into politics, Vijay announced that he would stop acting in movies and ‘Jana Nayagan’ would be his last film as an actor.Vijay’s political journeySetting the ball rolling for his political journey in 2009, Vijay changed his fan club association reportedly to Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’ (Vijay People’s Movement) and reportedly supported the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in the 2011 assembly elections.Over a decade later, in 2022, members of his fan club contested in local body elections and secured 115 seats out of 169. Vijay launched TVK on February 2, 2024, expressing his decision to contest the 2026 Assembly polls.Making an official announcement via a social media post, Vijay, then 51, said it was his long-term intention and desire to help the people of Tamil Nadu and the Tamil community, who gave him name and fame.Over 80,000 people attended his first political rally on October 27, 2024 in Vikravandi about 160 km from Chennai. During the rally, Vijay said his party will promote secular ideologies and support social justice, egalitarianism and the two-language policy.Vijay said that the party’s ideological opponent will be the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and, what he called as, the ‘evil force’ of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) because of its alleged corruption and dynastic politics.A year later, in April 2025, Vijay held a meeting with party functionaries in Coimbatore, where Vijay stated his commitment to establish a corruption-free, transparent, and accountable government.Vijay continued to attack the BJP and the DMK at a rally in Madurai in August 2025 while praising former actor-turned politicians M G Ramachandran and Vijaykanth.During his public meetings, Vijay has stressed that the 2026 assembly elections is a fight between the ‘DMK’ and the ‘TVK’, maintaining that it is two-way fight. He labelled the BJP as his party’s ‘ideological enemy’ while the DMK as the ‘political foe’ accusing it of running a dynastic, anti-people government. He has also called for the retrieval of the island of Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka.Setback after rally stampedeVijay’s political ambition seemingly took a hit after 41 people died in a stampede at a TVK rally in Karur.The way he conducted himself after the event was also became a point of criticism as he left the venue and shared a video later expressing his condolences without meeting the family of the deceased. His party announced ₹20 lakh as relief to the victims.While the Tamil Nadu government formed a one-member commission to probe the incident, a CBI probe was announced and Vijay had to personally appear at their headquarters in Delhi.On March 29, Vijay formally declared the candidates for all the 234 assembly segments and kick-started his campaign from March 30 after filing his nominations.Vijay contested in two constituencies -- Tiruchirappalli East and the other being Perambur located in North of Chennai which his party colleagues also passed a resolution urging him to contest in this North Chennai assembly seat.The party received a shot in the arm after veteran politician and nine-time MLA K A Sengottaiyan, switched from AIADMK and joined TVK and was made the party’s chief coordinator.