Vijay scripts Tamil Nadu poll stunner but falls short of majority: Will TVK seek allies, or does it even need to?

Actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) pulled off a stunning debut in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, winning 108 seats when results were declared on 4 May.

The party, however, fell short of the majority mark by 10 seats. To form a government in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly, a party or an alliance has to win at least 118 seats.

With his historic victory, Vijay has disrupted the decades-long DMK–AIADMK duopoly in Tamil Nadu, where the two Dravidian parties have alternated in power for over sixty years.

TVK has emerged as the single-largest party in Tamil Nadu, positioning Vijay as the undisputed leader for the chief ministerial post. Yet, he may still require limited but crucial support from other parties.

TVK is likely to seek the support of smaller parties that were part of either the DMK or the AIADMK alliance, news agency ANI said. Congress (5 seats), PMK (4 seats), and Left parties, including CPI(M) and VCK, are among those likely to extend support to TVK.

Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi congratulate Vijay

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated Vijay on his party's stellar debut in the Tamil Nadu elections.

“Congratulations to TVK on their impressive performance. The Centre will leave no stone unturned in furthering the progress of Tamil Nadu and the well-being of their people," PM Modi wrote in a post on X.

Rahul Gandhi said he spoke with Vijay. “I spoke to Thiru Vijay and congratulated him on TVK’s spectacular result. My heartfelt thanks to the Congress workers of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for their hard work and support. I reiterate that the Congress party will continue to protect and serve the people of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said in a post on X.

AICC In-charge for Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, earlier said he had given a report to Congress leadership and they will "take a call on Tamil Nadu".

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had earlier extended his congratulations to the TVK.

Vijay doesn't need to form a majority Govt: Experts

Experts said Vijay does not need to form a majority government. “He can be invited by the Governor to form the government and take a floor test and dare the DMK and AIADMK to vote him out. They wouldn't dare do this for now. My guess is that if a floor test happens, one group of MLAs may absent themselves to allow the confidence vote to pass. So theoretically, he can run a minority government as long as the others won't join each other to vote him out,” says Chennai-based political analyst Sumanth Raman.

In this case, “others” that Raman refers to are the DMK and AIADMK—the traditional Dravidian rivals in Tamil Nadu—backed by the Congress and the BJP, respectively.

TVK got over 32% votes, DMK followed with 24.19%, while the AIADMK secured 21.22%. This percentage represents a decline from their 2021 Assembly performances, where they secured over 30% vote shares each. A stunning result came from Kolathur, Chief Minister MK Stalin's longtime stronghold. TVK's VS Babu defeated him by 8,795 votes. Stalin formally conceded defeat in a post on X.

"We bow to and accept the verdict of the people. Congratulations to the victors!" he said.

BJP leader and former Tamil Nadu state president K Annamalai said the result points to a generational shift. "I bow down to the people of TN for your verdict. Happy to see in my land, people have risen in one voice and spoken; No to buying of votes, No to dynastic politics & yes to a generational shift in politics," Annamalai wrote.

Vijay has joined the league of iconic actor-turned-leaders like NT Rama Rao, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa due to his electoral success. It also signals a shift in Tamil Nadu politics away from alliances led by DMK and AIADMK, which have alternately ruled the state for several decades.

Vijay launched TVK in 2024 with a clear strategy, contest independently and challenge established parties head-on. The party fielded candidates across all 234 seats, making it one of the most ambitious political debuts in India.

Unlike traditional Dravidian parties, TVK focused on building a strong grassroots structure by converting Vijay’s fan clubs into political cadres, a move that has paid off significantly in the elections.

(With agency inputs)