During a meeting of the Dharmapuri district advisory team, district president Siva said that Vijay was considering contesting in one of the five assembly constituencies.
In a twist to Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, sources suggest that actor-turned-politician Vijay is gearing up to contest in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. According to sources, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has already started laying the groundwork for the upcoming state assembly polls, with significant focus on local issues and engaging with the electorate. During a meeting of the Dharmapuri district advisory team on Sunday, district president Siva said that Vijay was considering contesting in one of the five assembly constituencies in the region, further raising speculations about the actor’s electoral ambitions.
In recent years, Tamil Nadu’s political scene has been dominated by a two-party contest, with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regularly alternating in power. While many still see the DMK and AIADMK as the main political forces, the entry of TVK has introduced new uncertainties about the distribution of votes and possible alliances. Since his announcement, Vijay has been actively building his political base, drawing attention with his public statements and policy announcements. His growing influence suggests that the upcoming election may no longer be a straightforward battle between the two major parties, but could involve multiple contenders vying for power.
During its Sunday meeting, the TVK criticised the MK Stalin-led state government over issues of law and order, urging it to take immediate action on several key fronts. The party called for the long-awaited caste survey to be conducted, demanded the cancellation of the controversial Parandur airport project, and pressed for a time-bound closure of liquor outlets across the state. In a broader political statement, the TVK voiced strong opposition to the BJP-led central government, condemning the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, currently under review by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. The party described the bill as an “attack on federalism” and called for its immediate withdrawal.
Further challenging the Centre’s policies, the TVK rejected the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, labelling it a direct threat to democratic values. The party strongly condemned any attempt to implement this plan, arguing that it undermined the federal structure and the democratic process. In its first meeting of district office bearers and executive committee members, TVK focused on ‘strengthening’ its organisational framework and reaching out to the public.
The meeting culminated in the passage of 26 key resolutions. Among these, the party reiterated its support for the scrapping of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and called for a transfer of education from the concurrent list to the state list of the Constitution. The TVK emphasised its commitment to secularism and social justice, positioning itself as an advocate for unity and harmony among the people of Tamil Nadu.
With Tamil Nadu’s next Assembly elections just two years away, all major political parties have begun mobilising their resources, but this time, the political environment promises to be different. For the first time in decades, the absence of two of Tamil Nadu’s most iconic political figures – AIADMK’s Jayalalithaa and DMK’s Karunanidhi – has created an unfamiliar vacuum in state politics.
In the 2021 state assembly elections, Edappadi Palaniswami led the AIADMK government, while the DMK, under MK Stalin, formed a strong alliance and emerged victorious. Since taking office, Chief Minister MK Stalin’s leadership has seen the state through more than three years of governance, with the remaining tenure of his first term now eagerly awaited by the electorate. This time around, Tamil Nadu voters will be casting their ballots in a political environment shaped by the performance of the DMK government, as well as the political trajectory of other emerging parties, most notably Vijay’s.
Whether Vijay’s candidacy will shift the political balance in Dharmapuri and across the state remains to be seen, but it is clear that his role in the 2026 Assembly elections could prove to be a game-changer for Tamil Nadu politics.
