As Vijay’s TVK storms Tamil Nadu, the question now on everyone’s minds is if the actor will be able to convert star power and crowd force into a well-oiled State machinery that can support the development ambitions of Tamil Nadu.
TVK has run its campaign largely on the premise of being anti-DMK, thereby turning the anti-incumbency wave into its favour, but Vijay’s political ideologies and positions on various key issues are still unclear.
With majority of TVK’s winners also being first-time candidates and not career politicians, how he manages to run the government efficiently also remains a question. “TVK does not come across as either politically conscious nor ideologically active. Their victory is a rejection of the Dravidian separatism model, which the DMK particularly indulged in,” said S Gurumurthy, Editor of Thuglak and a political analyst.
However, I see TN politics getting polarised between regionalism and nationalism under the TVK’s rule, he added. He also believes this will lead to an expansion of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJPs) role in TN.
‘In sync with Centre’
“Vijay’s victory suggests that TN is fatigued with the anti-Hindu and anti-nationalism that the DMK particularly runs its campaign on,” said Gurumurthy. They now look for their government to work in harmony with the Central government on State issues, he added.
His prediction comes despite the national party contesting only a few seats and winning just one (Udhagamandalam). The vote share of BJP in this polls was also just about 3 per cent, given that it contested in just 27 seats as part of ADMK-led NDA.
The political commentator notes that Vijay’s TVK has very similar stance as the DMK on a variety of issues, so it remains to be seen how his rule will be different. “In 1977, when MGR won for the first time, he had a set of experienced people from the then-DMK joining him, unlike Vijay, whose team is largely first-time candidates,” he said. It will be a largely bureaucrat-run State, he added.
As for the party in the third position, Gurumurthy says the role of AIADMK and its chief Edapaddi Palaniswami remains in question come 2031 Assembly Polls. “It is unlikely he will align with TVK now, and TVK also does not seem to need him,” he said.
Published on May 4, 2026