TVK Surge Shakes Tamil Nadu: Vijay’s Party Leads Race, DMK Ministers Trail

May 4, 2026 : Actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) is on course to make a dramatic electoral debut, emerging as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu with leads in 110 out of 234 Assembly constituencies as counting continues across the state.

The vote counting is underway at 62 centres covering 75,064 polling stations under tight security. Early trends are now available for all constituencies, pointing to a sharp shift in the state’s political landscape.

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), led by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, is leading in 49 seats. Its main rival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), is ahead in 57 seats. Other parties trail behind, with PMK leading in 5 seats, the Indian National Congress in 4, BJP in 1, and others in 9 constituencies.

Among high-profile contests, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin is trailing in his stronghold Kolathur constituency in Chennai. TVK candidate V. S. Babu is ahead by 7,975 votes after ten rounds of counting. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin is leading from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni by 1,048 votes against TVK’s Seleam D.

Vijay himself is comfortably ahead in both Perambur and Tiruchi East. In Tiruchi East, he leads by 12,173 votes over DMK’s Inigo Irudhayaraj, while in Perambur he is ahead by 16,452 votes against R. D. Sekar, reinforcing TVK’s strong entry into state politics.

Several prominent leaders are facing tough contests. BJP leader and Union Minister of State L. Murugan is trailing in Avinashi against TVK’s S. Kamali. Former Telangana and Puducherry Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is also trailing by over 15,000 votes against TVK’s Venkataramanan P.

Former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, who recently joined the DMK, is narrowly leading in Bodinayakanur by 173 votes. Former AIADMK leader K. A. Sengottaiyan, now with TVK, is leading in Gobichettipalayam. PMK leader Sowmya Anbumani is ahead in Dharmapuri.

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

The elections for the 234-member Assembly were held in a single phase on April 23, recording a high voter turnout of 85.1 percent, with around 4.8 crore votes cast.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK-led alliance secured a sweeping victory with 159 seats, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 118 and ending AIADMK’s decade-long rule. The DMK alone won 133 seats, while the AIADMK-led alliance secured 75 seats.

The current trends suggest a major political shift, with TVK poised to disrupt the long-standing dominance of Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu.