Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam
Indian political party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (transl. Victory Party of Tamilakam; abbr. TVK) is an Indian regional political party active in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It was founded on 2 February 2024 by actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay, the party's president, and is headquartered in Panaiyur, Chennai. Its ideological principles are rooted in egalitarianism, secularism, and social justice. TVK assumed power in Tamil Nadu in the 2026 Legislative Assembly election, with Vijay as Chief Minister.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | TVK |
| President | Vijay |
| General Secretary | N. Anand |
| Treasurer | P. Venkataramanan |
| Founder | Vijay |
| Founded | 2 February 2024 |
| Headquarters | Panaiyur, Chennai[1] |
| Membership | 15 million+ (September 2025)[2] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left[3] |
| Colours | Dark Red Yellow |
| Slogan | Pirappokkum Ella Uyirkkum (transl. All are equal by birth) (from Kural verse 972)[4] |
| ECI Status | RUPP |
| Alliance | TVK+ (2026–Present) |
| Seats in Rajya Sabha | 0 / 245 |
| Seats in Lok Sabha | 0 / 543 |
| Seats in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | 107 / 234 |
| Seats in Puducherry Legislative Assembly | 2 / 30 |
| Number of states and union territories in government | 1 / 31 |
| Election symbol | |
Whistle | |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| tvkvijay | |
History
Origin and formation
In July 2009, actor Vijay organised his fan clubs—reportedly numbering around 85,000 across Tamil Nadu,[5] under the umbrella of a welfare association titled Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (transl. Vijay's People Movement).[6][7] The association supported the AIADMK-led Alliance in the 2011 elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.[8] After a period of non-involvement in politics, the organisation contested the local body elections in Tamil Nadu in 2021 and won 115 out of the 169 seats it contested.[9]
Vijay made occasional political statements such as condemning the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in February 2019,[10] and criticising the other political parties in an event in June 2023.[11] On 2 February 2024, Vijay announced the launch of his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and stated his intent to contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections.[12][13]
In July 2024, Vijay called for the abolishment of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test,[14][15] and demanded that the subject of education be moved from the Concurrent List back to the State List.[16] In September 2024, TVK announced its ideological alignment with centre-left, following the ideologies of Ambedkar, Periyar, and Kamaraj.[3][17] The party further rejected any association with right-wing politics.[18]
Rallies and further events
On 27 October 2024, TVK held its first political conference in Vikravandi, which was reportedly attended by over 800,000 people.[19] In the rally, Vijay unveiled the party's ideology as "secular social justice, and supporting social justice, secularism, egalitarianism, two-language policy, and democracy.[20][21][22] During the conference, Vijay termed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as an "ideological opponent" due to its right-wing politics and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) as a "political adversary" due to its alleged corruption and dynastic politics.[23][24]
On 3 November 2024, the party passed 26 resolutions criticising the central and state governments.[25][26] After the conference, TVK attracted reaching out to youth, which prompted traditional parties like the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to increase their efforts to retain their voter base ahead of the 2026 elections.[27]
On 13 February 2025, the party announced a large-scale enrollment drive with plans to appoint over 70,000 booth agents and restructure its internal hierarchy in preparation for the 2026 state elections.[28] On 16 April 2025, the All India Muslim Jamaat reportedly issued a fatwa (a legal opinion in Islamic law) on TVK chief Vijay in relation to a recent iftar gathering hosted by his party and his anti-Islamic behavior, alleging that some of Vijay's film roles have depicted Muslims in a negative manner, including associating them with terrorism.[29][30][31]
On 26 April 2025, the party held a meeting of the party functionaries in Coimbatore, where Vijay stated his commitment to establish a corruption-free, transparent, and accountable government.[32][33]
On 21 August 2025, the party held its second conference in Madurai, where Vijay continued to attack the BJP and the DMK, while praising former actor-turned politicians M. G. Ramachandran and Vijayakanth. He also reiterated his promise for the safety of women, welfare of youth, elderly and trans persons, farmers, labourers, weavers, fisherfolk.[34][35] He also called for the retrieval of the island of Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka.[36]
On 27 September 2025, during a campaign rally hosted by Vijay in the outskirts of Karur, a crowd crush resulted in the deaths of at least 41 people and left 80 others injured.[37][38] Vijay shared a statement on social media expressing his condolences and announced that he intended to pay the families of the deceased ₹2 million (US$21,000), and the injured ₹0.2 million (US$2,100).[39] On 27 October 2025, Vijay met with victim's families in Mamallapuram to express his condolences.[40][41] The incident led to multiple litigation, and subsequent Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the incident.[42][43]
On 4 March 2026, supporters of TVK were reported to have created several fake social media accounts impersonating media outlets, as well as fictitious media organizations. These accounts allegedly disseminated false and defamatory remarks about journalists and media organizations. They also posted derogatory content targeting leaders and functionaries of various political parties in Tamil Nadu. The Chennai Press Club described the incident as an attempt to suppress freedom of expression and urged actor Vijay to take action against those responsible.[44]
On 7 March 2026, the party held International Women's Day celebration at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. During the event, party leader Vijay unveiled the party's first set of promises, ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections.[45] The announcements were primarily women-centric, and included monthly financial assistance, free LPG cylinders, free bus travel in government buses, one sovereign of gold and silk sari for brides from poor families, gold ring and welcome kit for newborns, educational assistance for poor students, and dedicated safety teams for women's safety.[46][47]
Assembly election
On 18 March 2026, Vijay stated that the party would contest alone in all the seats in the upcoming 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections.[48][49] On 29 March 2026, the party announced the candidates for all the seats,[50] and released the manifesto for the elections.[51] Vijay started his campaign for the elections on 30 March 2026, after filing his nomination to contest the elections from the Perambur Assembly constituency. A case was subsequently registered against him by the election officer for violating the Model Code of Conduct during the campaign.[52] In the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, TVK emerged as the single largest party, winning 108 out of the 234 seats in the state assembly.[53]
Current office bearers
| Member | Current elected positions | Party position |
|---|---|---|
 Vijay |
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu | President[54] |
N. Anand |
|
General secretary[56] |
| C. T. R. Nirmal Kumar | Deputy general secretary[54] | |
| P. Venkataramanan | Treasurer[57] | |
| John Arokiyasamy | Election strategist[54] | |
Aadhav Arjuna |
Campaign management general secretary[54] | |
| K. G. Arunraj | Propaganda & policy general secretary.[58] | |
 K. A. Sengottaiyan |
|
Chief coordinator of the high-level administrative committee[61] |
| Rajasekar | Headquarters secretary[62] | |
Rajmohan Arumugam |
Propaganda secretary[54] | |
| Nanjil Sampath | Campaign secretary[63] | |
| C. Vijayalakshmi | Membership secretary[62] | |
| I. Thahira | Joint secretary[62] |
List of party leaders
Electoral performance
| Year | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won in assembly | Change in seats | Popular vote | Percentage of votes | Vote Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tamil Nadu | |||||||
| 2026[64] | C. Vijay Josheph | 233 | 108 / 234 |
1,72,26,209 | 34.92 | ||
 Puducherry | |||||||
| 2026[65] | C. Vijay Josheph | 28 | 2 / 30 |
1,44,817 | 16.72 | ||