Who is TVK's KV Vijay Damu? Ex-auto driver defeats DMK and AIADMK heavyweights in Royapuram

In one of the most surprising and talked-about upsets of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections, KV Vijay Damu, who formerly worked as an auto driver and currently owns an auto consultancy business as per his affidavit filing, has won the Royapuram constituency with a comfortable margin.

Representing actor-turned-politician's debutant party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Dhamu defeated two of the most powerful political legacies in the state. He won the seat with over 59,000 votes, and a margin of 14,000 votes over his nearest rival, A Subair Khan of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, according to information available on the Election Commission of India (ECI) website. AIADMK's D Jayakumar was pushed to the third spot.

Major blow to AIADMK

The defeat is a major setback for the AIADMK, as Royapuram was considered a bastion of D Jayakumar since 1991. For the DMK, the result underscores a misstep in the candidate selection strategy, as the party's decision to field Subair Khan in place of sitting MLA Idream R. Murthy failed to pay off.

DMK candidate Subair Khan finished second but failed to counter the growing momentum behind TVK’s campaign across Chennai and several other constituencies, as per ECI data.

Vijay's TVK party takes commanding lead in 93 seats, wins 18 constituencies

Actor-turned politician C Joseph Vijay's TVK party is leading in Perambur with 45,917 votes, as per the Election Commission of India's trends after the eighth round. RD Shekar of DMK is trailing by a massive margin of 19,100 votes.

The 51-year-old TVK chief also contested from Tiruchirappalli (East) constituency, where he is leading with 32,792 votes and DMK's S Inigo Irudayaraj is trailing by 12,015 votes, as per ECI's status after the eighth round.

Apart from these two seats, the party has already secured wins in 18 constituencies and leading in another 93 seats, underscoring a blockbuster debut in Tamil Nadu. As early trends emerged, police tightened security outside TVK chief's house in Chennai.

Vijay had bet heavily on an intensive door-to-door campaign for his dual-seat gamble. On April 16, he made an unannounced visit to the Perambur constituency in Chennai and interacted directly with residents and supporters, NDTV reported. The move was part of a targeted outreach to women voters for certain social activities, underlining the campaign's local and cultural connect.

Vijay's popularity among youth

Vijay also commands a strong following among youth and children, including many first-time voters, a segment his party heavily relied on. He also enjoys a massive social media presence, which supposedly helped in amplifying his message beyond physical rallies, often reaching wider audiences more effectively than traditional campaigning.

When exit polls were released, most pollsters had predicted that the DMK would retain its stronghold for the second term, but it was Axis My India that went the opposite way, giving Vijay's party the unpopular edge over the two Dravidian parties: DMK and AIADMK, which have taken turns holding power in the state. As per ECI trends, Axis My India's exit poll prediction seems to be coming true.