Tamil film actor Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar has led his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), to a decisive breakthrough in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, winning 108 of the 234 seats. The result positions Vijay to become chief minister, marking the first time an actor has crossed the threshold into the state's top executive office since MGR in 1977.

Vijay, who formally exited cinema in 2024 after a three-decade career, launched TVK in February 2024 as a standalone alternative to the DMK-AIADMK duopoly. The party rejected pre-poll alliances and campaigned on youth unemployment, education, anti-corruption, and institutional accountability. Its organizational strength grew from the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, a fan network formalized in 2009 that transitioned into a political force through local body wins in 2021 and booth-level mobilization.

The 2025 Karur stampede at a TVK-linked event tested the party's crisis response, but Vijay's public and corrective measures appeared to mitigate political damage. With no party securing a majority, TVK now holds pivotal leverage in government formation. Vijay is expected to lead coalition negotiations, though any post-poll alliance will be scrutinized for alignment with his anti-establishment platform.

Political realignment is already underway, with smaller parties exploring ties to TVK as a third pole alongside the DMK-led and AIADMK-led fronts. Tamil Nadu now faces its most credible three-cornered contest in decades.

The Election Commission will finalize seat allocations Tuesday, after which the Governor will invite the largest bloc to form government. Vijay is scheduled to address the legislature on Thursday.