CHENNAI: Indian superstar-turned-politician Joseph Vijay’s newly formed party, Tamilaga Vitri Kazhagam (TVK), achieved a blockbuster success in the Tamil Nadu state elections, surprising political analysts and voters alike.
TVK, founded in February 2024, swept to victory, winning 108 seats out of 234, just short of a majority of 118 seats. The performance catapulted TVK into a key political player in the Tamil Nadu state, threatening the hegemony of the ruling DMK and its rival AIADMK, securing 59 and 47 seats respectively.
The politician himself won Perambur and Tiruchi constituencies. TVK garnered almost 35% of the total popular vote tallying 34.92%. Such a feat by a new political party is unprecedented in the Indian political scene.
The actor had been actively involved in political affairs way ahead of forming a new political party in 2024. In 2009, he transformed his fan clubs into a social welfare movement. The social welfare movement assisted him with the AIADMK alliance in 2011, signifying his political involvement. With the passage of time, his public performances gradually began to comprise deliberations regarding social issues such as unemployment amongst the youths, studies, and politics. In 2019, he criticized the Citizenship Amendment Act of the BJP-led Modi government.
Vijay’s TVK has become a threat to Tamil Nadu in the eyes of political experts, who regard it as an influential political force that can alter the existing power dynamics in the state’s politics.
