Voters in Tamil Nadu have halted the revolving door of leadership that has kept the power in the state switching between two Dravidian majors — the DMK and the AIADMK — since 1967. Instead, they decided to place their trust in actor-politician C. Joseph Vijay’s TVK.

According to Election Commission data updated at 11.30pm on Monday, Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had secured 107 wins, the DMK 60 and the AIADMK 47, leading to Tamil Nadu’s first hung Assembly.

Chief minister M.K. Stalin lost Kolathur in north Chennai to TVK’s V.S. Babu, a former DMK MLA who was Stalin’s election agent years ago before joining the AIADMK and finally Vijay’s party. The last time a sitting chief minister lost the polls was J. Jayalalithaa from Bargur in 1996.

The DMK lost almost all of its strongholds in the Chennai region to the TVK.

Vijay’s campaign was directed towards Gen-Z. Crowds swelled at his rallies, including one in Karur where a stampede occurred in September last year. Under-30 voters make up 31 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s electorate, and the mainstream Dravidian propaganda of welfarism and identity politics did not resonate with them. Women offered support to Vijay, hoping he would address issues such as safety and drug peddling and perhaps even ban alcohol — a promise he hasn’t even made.

Deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin secured a victory in the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency with a margin of 7,140 votes. In the initial few rounds, the DMK leader trailed behind TVK’s Selvam D. The victory reinforces the DMK’s stronghold in the historic Assembly seat, previously represented by his grandfather and former chief minister M. Karunanidhi.

Besides Udhayanidhi, P.K. Sekarbabu in Harbour is the only DMK candidate who won a city seat.

From Gummidipoondi in the north to Thiruporur in the south, and from Arakkonam in the west to the Bay of Bengal, Chennai — an erstwhile DMK stronghold — and its neighbouring districts are a sea of TVK’s red and yellow. The party has won in most urban areas in the state.

The TVK garnered 34.92 per cent of the votes, followed by the DMK at 24.19 per cent and the AIADMK at 21.21 per cent. In 2021, the DMK won 133 seats by raking in 37.7 per cent votes and the AIADMK won 66 seats by pocketing 33.29 per cent votes.

Vijay won from both Perambur and Tiruchirapalli (East). Former chief minister and AIADMK’s Edappadi K. Palaniswami also won the Edappadi seat in Salem
district.

Allies of both the DMK and the AIADMK are in single digits and may emerge as kingmakers. DMK ally Congress got five seats, while AIADMK ally Pattali Makkal Katchi got four seats. Other DMK allies such as the CPI, CPM, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Indian Union Muslim League have got two seats each. The BJP, aligned with the AIADMK, has only won Udhagamandalam.

The BJP’s junior Union minister, L. Murugan, lost to the TVK in Avanashi.

Most senior politicians were too shocked to comment on the results.

Stalin’s post on X signalled no outside support to the TVK. “The DMK, which has so far functioned as an exemplary ruling party for the people, henceforth will function as an exemplary opposition party,” he wrote.

“If Vijay offers to join hands, we won’t,” senior AIADMK leader C. Ponnaiyan told reporters earlier in the day.

A section of the Congress has backed Vijay, even before the polls.

Vijay’s father, S.A. Chadrasekaran, told reporters: “The Congress has a history and tradition. Such a Congress, why is it diminishing? Due to lack of power.... By supporting some party, they are declining. That power… Vijay is ready to give. If they get that power, Congress can retain its history. They should take this chance.”

The majority mark in the Tamil Nadu Assembly is 118.

A senior Congress leader told The Telegraph: “We are likely to support the TVK and join the government if invited.”

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated Vijay.

“I spoke to Thiru Vijay and congratulated him on TVK’s spectacular result. This mandate reflects the rising voice of youth which cannot, and will not, be ignored,” Rahul posted on X.

Puducherry

N. Rangaswamy of the All India N.R. Congress is set to return to power in Puducherry with its alliance that includes the BJP, winning in 18 out of 30 seats.

The DMK stood at five and the BJP at four. The TVK made its presence felt with two, with its ally Neyam Makkal Kazhagam at one. Independents have won three seats.

This will be Rangaswamy’s fourth term and second consecutive term as chief minister.