Actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam secures over 100 seats, ending DMK and AIADMK’s long-standing political dominance in the state.
ACTOR-turned-politician Vijay has secured a stunning victory in the 2026 Tamil Nadu state elections, with his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), emerging as the dominant force in a result that reshapes the state’s long-standing political order.
According to reports, TVK is set to win well over 100 seats in the 234-member assembly, marking a sensational debut for Vijay and signalling a major shift away from the decades-long dominance of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
Early and final counting trends showed TVK leading comfortably ahead of its rivals, with the AIADMK trailing in second place and the ruling DMK pushed to third.
The outcome is widely seen as a political earthquake in Tamil Nadu, where politics has traditionally been a two-party contest between the DMK and AIADMK for more than five decades.
Adding to the symbolic nature of the victory, Vijay’s driver, R. Sabarinathan, also won his seat, highlighting the breadth of support for the new party across constituencies.
Vijay, one of Tamil cinema’s biggest stars, had only recently entered politics, launching TVK in 2024 and contesting the election independently across the state.
His rapid rise from film icon to political leader has drawn comparisons to past actor-politicians in Tamil Nadu, but analysts say the scale of his debut victory is unprecedented.
The TVK’s success has been attributed to a combination of Vijay’s mass popularity and a strong grassroots organisational strategy, which helped convert fan support into electoral gains.
The results also dealt a major blow to incumbent Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, whose DMK had been widely expected to retain power based on pre-election forecasts.
With the majority mark set at 118 seats, TVK’s strong performance positions Vijay to form the next state government, potentially ushering in a new era in Tamil Nadu politics.
Final confirmations of seat tallies are expected as official results continue to be declared across all constituencies.
