4 min readMay 4, 2026 11:47 AM IST
First published on: May 4, 2026 at 11:42 AM IST
If actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK, which has emerged as the single largest party in early trends in Tamil Nadu and is in striking distance of the halfway mark, manages to hold the lead, it will be a watershed moment not just in Tamil Nadu but Indian politics too, with very few parallels.
Indian politics has rarely seen a political party capture power in its very first elections, let alone just a year after its formation. The TVK’s surge, which means that the political landscape of Tamil Nadu — dominated over the last six decades by Dravidian majors DMK and the AIADMK — will change. And Tamil Nadu will be witnessing history.
Tamil Nadu had created history six decades ago when it became the first state to elect a regional party to power, ending the Congress’s electoral and political hegemony. That was in 1967, the era when the Congress had absolute electoral domination. Since then, the state has been ruled by the DMK and the AIADMK and that is set to change.
Vijay will be creating history on many counts.
A party emerging as the single largest party in its very first elections is rare. The first time a political party on debut captured power was in undivided Andhra Pradesh when matinee idol N T Rama Rao’s TDP routed the Congress in 1983. Rao, who had an iconic persona, had formed the TDP in March 1982 and captured power just nine months later.
Three years later, the AGP came to power in Assam in its first elections. The party, formed in October 1985, captured power in assembly elections held two months later. The Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi emerged as the second-largest party in Delhi in its very first elections in 2013.
But there are key differences. In NTR’s case, his prime slogan was the Telugu people’s self-respect. He rode to power on the back of the massive political instability created in the state by the Congress central leadership in Delhi. The Congress, which was in power, had installed five chief ministers in five years and NTR’s slogan that Delhi was creating havoc in the state created massive resonance. Moreover, he had the support of his numerically less but economically influential Kamma community. The TDP then won 202 of the 294 seats.
In Assam, the AGP was born out of the agitation against foreigners. The agitation led by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) against illegal migrants had lasted for six years. The AGP was formed soon after the Assam Accord was signed, merging AASU, Asom Jatiyatabadi Dal (AJD) and Purbanchaliya Loka Parishad. The new political entity was led by those who led the Assam agitation. The AGP created history and AASU leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta became the youngest chief minister at the age of 33.
The AAP, which was formed in 2012, stunned the BJP and the Congress in Delhi, winning 28 of the 70 seats with a vote share of close to 30%. But AAP, like AGP, was born out of a movement – the anti-corruption stir against the UPA government.
The difference in the TVK’s case is that it was not born out of a long-drawn social movement or agitation. It had no solid ideological base. The AAP and the AGP were anchored in a clear political ideology. The TVK also lacked a strong line of second-rung leaders. It was all a Vijay show. Moreover, it did not have either caste or community support.
The parallel with matinee idol M G Ramachandran (MGR) who came to power in his first elections, would also be misplaced. MGR broke away from the DMK and formed the AIADMK in 1972. He did come to power in his first elections but that was five years later in 1977. Moreover, MGR was in politics much before he formed the party. He was the treasurer of the DMK when was expelled by the faction led by M Karunanidhi.
