What worked for Vijay’s TVK, ending four decades of Dravidian rule in Tamil Nadu

In Madurai Central, TVK’s Madhar Badhurudeen defeated former DMK minister Palanivel Thiagarajan by 19,128 votes.

In Katpadi, TVK’s M Sudhakar defeated DMK general secretary Durai Murugan by a margin of 7,643 votes, a major upset of a senior DMK figure.

TVK won 107 seats, DMK 74, and the AIADMK-led alliance 53, delivering a generational verdict against the established Dravidian parties.

Vijay positioned BJP as an ideological opponent and DMK as a political opponent known for corruption and family politics, presenting TVK as clean, modern, and secular.

The manifesto offered quantified promises to youth and women, including a 'super six' package for women (₹2,500 per month, six free LPG cylinders, and a sovereign coin) and unemployment allowance plus a paid internship for youth.

Vijay formally introduced the full slate of 234 nominees after party surveys refined ward-by-ward selections, saying: 'They are my nominees. You will be voting for me.'

TVK leveraged a ground network built from the VKI fan club, comprising about 85,000 members; the cadre’s average age was described as under 40.

The party flag (red and yellow with a Vaagai flower motif) was hoisted, and the Pirappokkum Ella Uyirkum tagline was adopted, aligning branding with classical Tamil literature to project equality by birth.

In the 2021 local body elections, more than 100 members of the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VKI) contested as independents and most won, providing an early indicator of TVK's constituency-level appeal.