Vijay Casts Vote in Tamil Nadu Elections, Faces DMK Heavyweights in Debut

Actor-turned-politician Vijay is contesting from the Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies.

In Perambur, Vijay is pitted against DMK heavyweight RD Shekar, who recorded a landslide victory in the last elections by a margin of 54,976 votes against AIADMK's NR Dhanapalan. In Tiruchirappalli East, he is contesting against sitting DMK MLA Inigo Irudayaraj S, who won with a huge margin of 53,797 votes in the 2021 elections.

Vijay is backing his crowd-pulling ability, given his stature as a star, and poll promises against traditional politicians.

Polling for the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu began on Thursday amid tight security. The voting will conclude at 6:00 pm today.

Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge termed the elections a fight to protect the principles of federalism, equality, justice and freedom, and urged electors to vote in large numbers.

"Dear brothers and sisters of Tamil Nadu, the fight today is to secure your rights. The fight is to protect federalism, rationality, equality, justice and freedom. It is also to ensure inclusive welfare and retain the ideals of social justice espoused by your icons. It is time for you to exercise your Democratic right and take a stand against those who want to snatch your federal rights. I especially urge the first-time young voters to come out in large numbers and vote for the future of Tamil Nadu. Jai Hind. Jai Tamil Nadu," Kharge wrote on X.

Congress is contesting on 28 seats in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance.

The counting of votes will take place on May 4.

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik said that the state's electorate comprises over 5.73 crore voters, featuring 2,93,04,905 female voters, 2,80,30,658 male voters, and 7,728 third-gender voters. The poll body is also catering to 14,59,039 first-time voters and 68,501 service voters, with 4,18,541 postal votes already received. Furthermore, 62 counting centres have already been established to ensure a smooth process after the high-stakes voting concludes.

The main contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which includes the Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies.

With the DMK banking on its Dravidian 2.0 model, the AIADMK-led NDA is fighting for a comeback. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is also set to make his electoral debut with his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which could turn the contest into a three-way fight.

- ANI