Tamil Nadu: TVK Names Vijay As CM Candidate, Calls 2026 Election A Battle Between TVK And DMK

At a general council meeting in Mahabalipuram on Wednesday (5 November), the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) declared actor-politician Vijay as the chief ministerial candidate of the party for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The council also passed a resolution authorising him to take all decisions related to electoral alliances.

This was the first big party programme after the stampede during a party programme in Karur led to the loss of 41 lives.

During the meeting, Vijay hit out sharply at Chief Minister M K Stalin, accusing him of making 'narrow-minded' and politically motivated remarks in the Assembly about the stampede. He alleged that the DMK government had sought to exploit the tragedy for political gain and that state agencies were deliberately targeting his party.

Vijay further pointed fingers at the administration and asked why were permissions for party programmes being granted just few days before an event.

Among the other resolutions passed during the meeting were a condemnation of the DMK goverment over rising law and order issues and crimes against women, the failure to prevent continued arrests of fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy, protection of the Pallikaranai marshland, and a demand for a white paper on the investments and jobs created in the state since 2021.

While the AIADMK has reportedly made overtures to TVK, the latter is keen on contesting the elections alone or as a leader of an alliance than be a junior partner of another party. A formal move to announce Vijay as the chief minister candidate is thus being seen as a signal to other parties that the TVK sees itself as a serious contender for power.