TVK Surge: Vijay’s Party Emerges as Single Largest in Tamil Nadu, DMK Faces Setback

May 4, 2026 : Actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay has scripted a dramatic debut in Tamil Nadu politics, with his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), emerging as the single largest party in the Assembly election trends. TVK is leading in 110 of the 234 constituencies as counting progresses across 62 centres under tight security.

According to the Election Commission of India, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), led by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, is ahead in 49 seats, while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is leading in 57. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leads in 5 seats, the Indian National Congress (INC) in 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1, while others account for 9 seats.

Among key contests, M. K. Stalin is trailing in his Kolathur constituency by 7,975 votes against TVK candidate V. S. Babu after 10 rounds of counting. Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin is leading narrowly in Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni by 1,048 votes against TVK’s Seleam D.

Vijay himself is comfortably ahead in both Perambur and Tiruchy East constituencies. In Tiruchy East, he leads DMK’s Inigo Irudhayaraj by 12,173 votes, while in Perambur he is ahead of R. D. Shekar by 16,452 votes.

The BJP’s Union Minister of State L. Murugan is trailing in Avinashi against TVK’s S. Kamali by 2,066 votes. Another BJP leader, Tamilisai Soundararajan, is trailing by over 15,000 votes against TVK’s Venkataramanan P.

Former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, now with the DMK, is leading narrowly in Bodinayakanur. Former AIADMK leader K. A. Sengottaiyan, who joined TVK, is leading in Gobichettipalayam. PMK leader Sowmya Anbumani is ahead in Dharmapuri.

Several DMK ministers are also trailing, including Duraimurugan in Katpadi, P. Geetha Jeevan in Thoothukudi, Ma. Subramanian in Saidapet, E. V. Velu in Tiruvannamalai, and T. M. Anbarasan in Alandur.

The election, held in a single phase on April 23, recorded a high voter turnout of 85.1 percent, with 4.8 crore votes cast.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK-led alliance had secured a sweeping victory with 159 seats, crossing the majority mark comfortably and ending AIADMK’s decade-long rule. The current trends suggest a sharp political shift, with TVK poised to redefine the state’s electoral landscape.