New Delhi: As TVK leads the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections by more than 100 votes, for Vijay’s fans, the suspense is already over. In their heads, the trophy has been lifted. Their “Thalapathty” has already won.
In a cinematic political debut, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has stormed into the political arena like a dark horse and is dominating across constituencies.
But numbers only tell half the story. The real pulse is beating in homes like Ram Kumar’s in Kanchipuram.
“We have been playing Vijay’s songs in our house since morning. For us, Vijay’s victory is equivalent to India winning the World Cup. He is our ‘Chennai Super King’ in the truest sense,” Kumar said, his voice barely cutting through the chaos behind him.
Loud cheers and whistles have taken over his house. The 32-year-old, who has followed the actor-turned-politician’s journey for over a decade, swapped his job at a mobile shop to become a TVK party worker.
“Today will be remembered in the history of Tamil Nadu politics. TVK and Vijay will be remembered,” he said.
By the time trends started firming up, Kumar’s house had already turned into a mini celebration zone.
In a scene reminiscent of a Diwali or New Year celebration, relatives, neighbours, friends, everyone dropped by for a visit or called him up to congratulate him on TVK’s progress.
“I had already bought crackers and 50-60 boxes of sweets last night. Our preparation was ready. That is the confidence we have in him,” Kumar said.
For another fan, Bala, “Lady Luck” had a huge role to play in Vijay’s political success.
With counting taking place on 4 May, which also happens to be actor Trisha Krishnan’s 43rd birthday, fans have dubbed this coincidence a cosmic alignment.
The rumoured relationship between the two actors has kept gossip mills running for years, with fans happily reading between the lines.
“Anni (elder brother’s wife) brought luck. Of course. He (Vijay) has won it for her, for us, all his fans. And, what a day to win,” Bala said.
Earlier in the day, visuals of Trisha at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati surfaced online, showing her offering prayers. Within hours, more clips followed. Fans didn’t waste time in assuming that Trisha’s temple visit was less about her birthday and more about Vijay’s victory in his debut elections.
Meanwhile, in Thanjavur, sleep was a luxury no Vijay fan could afford last night. Gokul, who proudly calls himself a “die-hard fan” told ThePrint that his household has been running on adrenaline since eight in the morning.
“My parents have been switching news channels, one after the other,” the 26-year-old said.
The early trends did shake a few nerves; other parties (DMK and AIDMK) briefly edged ahead, but the moment TVK crossed the 100-seat mark, there was a sigh of relief among Vijay’s fans.
Drums started beating. Kids ran out onto the streets. People in Gokul’s neighbourhood started exchanging updates, sweets, and loud, breathless predictions: “Vijay is our CM.”
“We have been dancing in our houses. There is no feeling like this before, it feels like a personal win in each and every household. We stood against every odd and made history,” Gokul said.
“The entire Tamil Nadu trusted on one man, ‘VIJAY’, even after two old parties gave enormous money, they voted and stood with Thalapathy,” he added.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)