How Thalapathy Vijay, set to be Tamil Nadu chief minister, turned tide around after Karur stampede
The counting of votes for Tamil Nadu assembly election 2026 began at 8 am, shortly after which trends emerged and so did the TVK as the single-largest party.
The deadly September 2025 Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally stampede failed to overshadow its chief's, actor-turned-politician 'Thalapathy' Vijay, popularity as the party eyed a historic electoral victory in Tamil Nadu in its debut election.
The counting of votes for Tamil Nadu assembly election 2026 began at 8am, shortly after which trends emerged and so did the TVK as the single-largest party.
According to Election Commission of India data at 4:30pm, the TVK was ahead or leading in over 105 seats, while the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was struggling to make gains with a humble 58 leads.
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The All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) was ahead in 45 constituencies.
The September 2025 Karur stampede, which occurred during a massive gathering linked to Vijay's political outreach, had briefly shifted focus from his political rise to concerns over intensity of fan-driven politics.
Over 40 people were killed, and dozens were injured when supporters surged during the event.
Despite a campaign marred by memories of a deadly stampede, the Tamil Nadu projected results reflect Vijay's massive fan-following turning the tide to TVK's favour in a stunning show for a debutant party.
TVK positioned itself as a strong contender in Dravidian bastion Tamil Nadu with its manifesto which focused on key groups like women and unemployed graduates.
A monthly handout of ₹2,500 for every woman in Tamil Nadu, ₹10,000 for unemployed graduates, a waiver for cooperative crop loans and a ministry of artificial intelligence – Vijay's TVK made a raft of promises aimed at the southern state's women, its farmers, and the younger population in its manifesto.
Those promises appeared to click with Tamil Nadu's voters.
A win in the works since 2009
Vijay's win is the result of a carefully engineered political rise that has converted fan loyalty into a formidable electoral machine - a moment that has been in the making for years.
