Tamil Nadu ushered in a new political era as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, attended Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. Rahul Gandhi was sitting next to Vijay and was seen chatting with him ahead of the historic occasion.
The 2026 Tamil Nadu elections went down in history when the state announced an unprecedented mandate for victory. The TVK won its first political term by winning 108 seats out of 234, but it was the first time in the history of state politics that both the traditional Dravidian parties were ousted from power.
However, Vijay could not muster a majority on his own and later got the support of Congress (5), СРІ-М (2), CPI (2), VCK (2) and IUML (2), who were earlier allies of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance. Vijay, often referred to as ‘Thalapathy’, showed such an ability to attract people at election rallies that many compared him to actor-turned-politician and former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran. Tamil Nadu has a long history of actors entering politics and achieving success, but after Captain Vijayakanth, the state was waiting for another star to arrive.
He has also embraced his Christian identity while being outspoken about secular politics. TVK was launched in 2024, but Vijay is seen as a philanthropist and cannot be considered aloof from politics considering his films have dealt with the drug problem, corruption and other socio-political issues. There has been speculation about his entry into politics since 2009, but Vijay has kept himself active in social work. In the 2026 elections, he won two seats of Perambur and Trichy East and will resign from one seat.
