Tamil film superstar-turned-politician Vijay will make his electoral debut from two constituencies, Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchi East, marking a high-stakes entry into the Tamil Nadu Assembly election fray as his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), unveiled its first list of candidates on Sunday.
The decision on Vijay’s seats signals a gamble — Perumbur is an urban, working-class Chennai seat where his personal popularity will be tested, and the Tiruchi East constituency is one where Christian voters are expected to play a role.
“Perambur means the superstar will depend on popularity votes, while Tiruchi East means community votes,” said a senior TVK leader, who is also in the party’s candidates list. “Tiruchi East may be easier to win, compared to Perambur, which is going to be a tough fight for us,” the leader said.
In Perambur, Vijay will face DMK’s sitting MLA R D Shekar, while the AIADMK front has allotted the seat to the PMK led by Anbumani Ramadoss. In Tiruchi East, he will be up against DMK’s incumbent Inigo Irudayaraj and AIADMK’s K Rajasekaran.
12-hour ‘seat-shift window’
If Vijay’s candidature set the tone, the composition of his candidate list revealed something else: a rapid, almost transactional churn in Tamil Nadu’s political marketplace.
In what party insiders describe as an overnight “seat-shift window” — a phenomenon where denied aspirants from major parties recalibrate within hours — TVK saw a rush of entrants who were quickly accommodated.
Former AIADMK district secretary Dusi K Mohan, denied a ticket by his party, joined TVK and secured the Cheyyar seat within hours. Former AIADMK MLA R V Narayanan moved similarly and is now contesting from Nanguneri. Tirunelveli-based powerful road contractor Murugesan, long associated with O Panneerselvam before joining DMK, arrived in Chennai overnight after being denied a DMK ticket and walked away with a TVK nomination.
Even the Congress saw a defection — local leader D Selvam. He joined TVK just two days ago and will now contest from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni against Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. Candidates from DMK, Congress and AIADMK have all landed in TVK in similar fashion over a short span in a churn that shows both opportunity and uncertainty in Vijay’s political project.
The core team
Alongside these late entrants, TVK has fielded a mix of loyalists, recent high-profile recruits and organisational faces. General secretary ‘Bussy’ N Anand will contest from T Nagar, while election campaign management general secretary Aadhav Arjuna has been fielded from Villivakkam. Treasurer P Venkataramanan will contest from Mylapore. All these seats fall within the Chennai city.
Among other key candidates are K A Sengottaiyan, a nine-time former AIADMK MLA, who will contest from Gobichettipalayam. The list also includes former MP V Sathyabama from Tiruppur North, former Agriculture minister Ku Pa Krishnan from Lalgudi, former IRS officer K G Arunraaj from Tiruchengode, C T R Nirmal Kumar from Thirupparankundram, A Rajmohan from Egmore (reserved), former MLA JCD Prabhakar from Thousand Lights, V S Babu from Kolathur where Chief Minister M K Stalin is seeking re-election, and N Marie Wilson from R K Nagar. The list reflects a blend of defectors, professionals and party functionaries rather than traditional cadre-based selections.
Political positioning
Unveiling what he described as a youth-focused agenda, Vijay promised unemployment assistance of Rs 4,000 for graduates above 29 years and Rs 2,000 for diploma holders. He also outlined a series of proposals, including collateral-free education loans up to Rs 20 lakh, internship opportunities for five lakh youth, and a Tamil Nadu Recruitment Accountability and Transparency Act.
Vijay positioned the election as a direct contest between his party and the ruling alliance. “The election is going to be between the people’s alliance, TVK, and the Stalin-led alliance,” he said on Sunday, dismissing the DMK-led front as one formed by “piecing together broken glass pieces”.
Popularity vs structure
For all the ambition, the arithmetic remains uncertain. TVK insiders estimate that most of their candidates may secure 10–15% vote share, with top faces such as Aadhav Arjuna and Bussy Anand potentially touching 20%. But the party lacks the deep booth-level machinery that both DMK and AIADMK have built over decades. That gap is most visible in Vijay’s own choices.
Perambur, a dense urban constituency, offers visibility but demands organisation. Tiruchi East offers a more favourable social base but comes with a fight against a sitting MLA who is equally backed by the community and the Church. The twin-seat strategy suggests both confidence and caution — a star hedging his first electoral bet.
From ‘V’ to viability
The choice of constituencies also marks a shift from Vijay’s earlier thinking. As reported by The Indian Express last year, there had been internal discussions about selecting a seat beginning with the letter “V” — Virudhachalam or Vikravandi — following an astrologer’s suggestion aligning his name, party and constituency.
That idea appears to have given way to electoral challenges. Perambur and Tiruchi East are less about symbolism and more about winnability, or at least, visibility.
The Assembly election is scheduled to be held in Tamil Nadu on April 23.