Actor-politician Vijay cast his vote at Neelankarai as Tamil Nadu goes to polls for the 2026 Assembly elections under tight security. The state is witnessing a closely watched contest between the DMK-led alliance, AIADMK-led NDA, and Vijay’s debut party TVK.
TVK chief Vijay
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor-turned-politician Vijay cast his vote on Thursday at the Neelankarai polling booth for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Vijay is contesting in two constituencies; Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East. In Perambur, he is up against DMK senior leader R.D. Shekar, who had won the last election with a massive margin of 54,976 votes against AIADMK candidate N.R. Dhanapalan. In Tiruchirappalli East, Vijay is facing sitting DMK MLA Inigo Irudayaraj S., who had also secured a big win in 2021 with a margin of 53,797 votes.
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Despite entering electoral politics as a newcomer, Vijay is relying on his huge popularity as a film star and his party’s promises to challenge established political leaders.
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Voting for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections began on Thursday under tight security arrangements and will continue till 6:00 pm on the same day.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called the election a crucial battle to protect federalism, equality, justice, and freedom. He urged people to vote in large numbers. In a message on X, he said the election is about protecting people’s rights and ensuring inclusive welfare, while warning against forces that he claimed could weaken federal principles. He also specially appealed to first-time young voters to participate actively. Congress is contesting 28 seats as part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
According to Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, the state has over 5.73 crore voters. This includes 2.93 crore women, 2.80 crore men, and 7,728 third-gender voters. There are also 14.59 lakh first-time voters and 68,501 service voters. So far, 4,18,541 postal votes have already been received. For smooth counting, 62 counting centres have been set up across the state.
The main contest is likely taking place between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which includes Congress, DMDK, and VCK, and the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance, which also has BJP and PMK as allies.
While DMK is banking on its “Dravidian 2.0” governance model, AIADMK-led NDA is aiming for a strong comeback. At the same time, Vijay’s TVK is entering the race for the first time, potentially turning the election into a three-way political fight.
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