Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay inaugurated the MLA office in his Perambur constituency on Monday (July 13, 2026). He also distributed smart ration cards to the beneficiaries in the area.

Mr. Vijay, also the president of the TVK, contested and won from Perambur as well as Tiruchirappalli East constituencies in the 2026 Assembly election. But he retained Perambur and resigned as the Tiruchirappalli  East MLA. Two months after the results were declared, Mr. Vijay officially visited Perambur for the first time.

Extensive security arrangements were made and traffic was diverted in Perambur in view of his visit. Barricades were erected on the roads. Members of the public lined the streets to welcome him.

The Chief Minister inaugurated the renovated MLA office at Sharma Nagar and paid his respects to the TVK’s ideological leaders by showering flowers on their portraits.

Minister for Public Works and Sports Development Aadhav Arjuna was present on the occasion. Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management K.A. Sengottaiyan, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies P. Venkataramanan, and Minister for Transport A. Vijay Tamilan Parthiban welcomed Mr. Vijay.

Mr. Vijay enquired about the facilities available at the MLA office. Certificates were issued to five individuals who had applied for various services. He then inaugurated the e-Sevai (e-Service) centre on the premises. He also held discussions with officials on the integrated development projects for Perambur and received petitions from members of the public.

Subsequently, the Chief Minister walked along the side street, accepting bouquets from the public. Walking a short distance from his office, he reached a nearby ration shop and distributed smart family cards to the beneficiaries. He also distributed foodgrains to a few individuals. Thereafter, he inspected the Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s electric bus depot at Vyasarpadi and boarded a few buses for inspection.

A website, tvkcm.com, and a mobile application were launched for the Perambur residents to report their grievances.

Civic works

The State government has planned to implement new civic infrastructure projects for development of Perambur Assembly Constituency, estimated at ₹1,013 crore in the next two years.

As many as 50 projects, including 22 projects for urban infrastructure, three projects for housing development, nine projects for water supply and sanitation, 11 projects for public utilities, and five projects for higher education will be implemented in the next two years in Perambur.

Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Monday also approved seven projects under the MLA Local Area Development Scheme, including a sports facility in Mayor Krishnamurthy Nagar in ward 45, a cricket pitch and basketball court in Dr. Ambedkar Arts and Science College, dialysis centre in ward 45, gig workers’ facility in ward 35, bus shelters at six locations and modernisation of anganwadis.

Chennai Corporation Commissioner G.S. Sameeran said: “Today the Chief Minister had a brief review with officials of various departments regarding the infrastructure needs in Perambur constituency in particular and North Chennai in general. GCC presented the Chief Minister with various developmental projects we have identified and which can address the infrastructure gaps of the area. The Chief Minister has instructed us to formulate detailed project proposals and initiate action to fulfil these schemes in the coming two years. Also, he had immediately sanctioned his MLALAD Fund of ₹3 crore to seven different projects.”

The recent defection of a large number of former Ministers and legislators belonging to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has prompted many to wonder whether the ruling party is seeking to build its organisational network through these latest recruits.

Even though it is well known that the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI), a voluntary organisation made up of newly elected Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s fans, has provided the much-needed manpower for the TVK, there is a perception in certain quarters that the ruling party has not yet acquired enough strength on the ground. Under such circumstances, it is quite natural that the TVK follows an “open-door policy” for anyone with political experience, especially from the AIADMK, which has finished third in the April-May Assembly election. There have been accretions to the ruling party from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) too but the TVK’s keenness to woo as many cadres as it can from the AIADMK is clearly evident. At an event to mark the admission of the defectors last week, one of the prominent faces of the new regime and Minister for Public Works and Sports Development Aadhav Arjuna said that “the AIADMK and the TVK are one and the same. The TVK is not a different party but [like] a parent body.” This observation has prompted leaders and observers to describe the TVK as “a new AIADMK.”

Editorial | Betrayal of mandate: On the TVK and Tamil Nadu politics

The main reason why the ruling party is targeting the Dravidian major is the latter’s comparative weakness in relation to its traditional adversary, the DMK. The depth of its defeat can be appreciated better if one is to take a close look at how it suffered electoral reverses in the 2026 Assembly poll. Apart from winning only 47 Assembly seats (against 66 seats in 2021), the party forfeited deposit in 19 seats, the highest so far. But the DMK, which contested four seats more than the AIADMK’s 172, did not forfeit deposit in any constituency. In terms of vote share in contested seats, the DMK fared better with 32.17% as against the other’s 28.7%.

A new alternative

There is one school of thought within the AIADMK, as articulated by general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami late last week, that the party’s performance was not as poor as it was in 1996 when it secured only four seats and that of the DMK’s in 1991 when it won just two seats. But there is one qualitative difference between 2026 and 1991 and 1996 — there was no credible third alternative force available then, unlike the TVK now. Besides, the number of seats where both the Dravidian majors forfeited deposits was much lower — 3 for the DMK in 1991 and 2 for the AIADMK in 1996. Moreover, as regards the AIADMK, the signals were out even in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls when the party forfeited, for the first time in a parliamentary election, deposits in seven constituencies. It is against this backdrop that the TVK, which has catapulted to power in the recent polls, is consolidating its position.

There are a few more compelling factors for the ruling party to take under its fold members of the AIADMK. In the Assembly polls, the TVK drew a blank in eight districts including Villupuram (with seven Assembly constituencies) and Nagapattinam-Mayiladuthurai-Tiruvarur (put together, 10 seats). It knows that it has to have a strong base in all these areas, even though no leading figure from these places was there in the latest round of defectors.

In addition, local body polls are going to be held in eight months, as declared by Mr. Arjuna a couple of days ago. Rural local bodies in 28 districts, which comprise 9,581 village panchayats, 314 panchayat union councils, and 28 district panchayats, do not have elected representatives. The term of such bodies in nine other districts will be over in four months. In February next year, the term of all major urban local bodies will also end. Going by all indications, the authorities would like to have elections to the rural and urban local bodies together. This is why the Minister has challenged the DMK asking whether it would be able to bag mayorship even in one municipal corporation.

Is Tamil Nadu witnessing its own ‘Operation Lotus’? | Focus Tamil Nadu

Politics in Tamil Nadu has entered a disturbing and controversial phase after four All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLAs resigned and joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. Critics have likened the development to the BJP’s much-criticised “Operation Lotus” strategy seen in several States. Is this simply the reality of coalition-era politics, or does it amount to a betrayal of TVK’s promise of clean and ethical governance?
| Video Credit:
The Hindu

It may be the hope of the TVK that if the party were to come out with flying colours in the local body polls, it can make moves, both politically and administratively, much more confidently than it has done so far.

Congress Lok Sabha MP Karti P. Chidambaram said on Friday that the party’s decision to pull out of the alliance led by its long-standing partner DMK, after the 2026 Assembly election, need not necessarily signal the end of the INDIA bloc nationally, as the Congress continues to work with the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress despite competing with them at the State level.

‘Post-poll pacts common’

In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Karti said post-poll alliances were common worldwide, especially in Europe, and underlined the fact that the Congress’s decision to leave the DMK-led alliance did not deprive it of an opportunity to form the government in the State. “At the ground level, there was no bond between DMK and Congress workers. We were winning elections, but there had always been step-brotherly treatment meted out by the DMK at the ground level. Even during the local bodies elections, there is no proper power-sharing. The Delhi [the high command] decided that in the long term, we need a new relationship and we have to go along with a new party,” he said.

Making an appeal to take a “sober” look at the issue, he said, “You could be a competitor in the State but be a part of the national alliance. The Congress and the CPI(M) and the Congress and the TMC are competing in the States but we are together in Parliament. The manner in which the split happened has resulted in bitterness with the DMK,” he said.

Asked whether he thought the Congress could gain more by allying with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and whether it could replace the DMK when it came to stridently opposing the BJP in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Karti said, “We have to see how the relationship evolves. As of now, it is good. We are now part of the State government after 1967. This is a positive. We have been given two Cabinet posts and a Rajya Sabha seat. But the real test is the local bodies elections…and whether it [the alliance] works on the ground. If there is a fair division of power, the alliance will work.”

‘TVK is secular’

With the TVK careful not to step on the BJP’s toes, Mr. Karti added, “The TVK’s line of thinking will only become clear as its leader begins to articulate his thoughts and reacts to situations. He [Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay] has insisted that he is secular and his political alliance has reflected that. I have no doubt that the TVK is secular. The BJP uses various techniques, not just ideology; but we need to see how the TVK  withstands them. The party is a new party and we need to give it time. It is a little unfair to expect it to react from day one.”

As for the reasons for the TVK to win 108 seats, he said the established political parties had failed to notice the “micro-campaign” that happened within “our homes” and refused to acknowledge the information that came from unconventional sources. “I believed that the TVK would get a substantial number of votes. My final assessment was that it would get 28% of the votes. Once they crossed 30% of the votes, they started winning seats. Not only me but also police officers, pollsters, functionaries — all of them miscalculated [the TVK’s reach]. This election has been candidate-agnostic — the voters have voted for the whistle, the TVK, and Mr. Vijay. We didn’t take the social media campaign and micro-campaign that happened in our homes seriously. Which is why when we asked our party men even after the election how many votes the party got in a particular booth, they didn’t tell us that the people voted for the TVK because they didn’t know it themselves.”

Could this be a “black swan” election and the TVK a “one-election” aberration?

“I am not willing to underestimate the TVK. He has contested, he has become the Chief Minister by making at least 100 first-timers win as MLAs, and he has formed the government. They may win or lose an election, but the party is here to stay. Today, there is purchase for unconventional politics across the world, compared with traditional, established political parties. Look at [U.S. President Donald] Trump today. He was conducting beauty pageants. There is a market for “out-of-the box” politics.”

Mr. Karti disagreed with the assertion that “being a part of the government alone could help in the growth of the party in Tamil Nadu”. “The problem with the Congress is that we will be too nice to our senior partner. We shouldn’t shy away from highlighting the people’s issues. Those who are a part of the government should be a part of it, but the party should continue to highlight the people’s issues. We have to assert ourselves. If our [political] identities merges with that of the ruling party, their fall would affect us too. That’s what happened to us.”

Despite Congress leader Rahul Gandhi taking part in the swearing-in of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay in Chennai on Sunday (May 10, 2026), the historic moment of Congress MLAs taking the oath as Cabinet Ministers after almost six decades didn’t come to pass.

Also read: Swearing-in ceremony of T.N. CM Vijay highlights

Party sources said the Congress asked the TVK to accommodate Melur MLA P. Viswanathan and Congress Legislature Party leader S. Rajeshkumar in the Cabinet.

However, the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) suggested that one Congress MLA be sworn in as a Minister now, and another berth could be given to the party during the expansion of the Cabinet. The Congress leadership felt that it was important for both MLAs to be sworn in together, given their significance to the party and their stature.

“Mr. Rajeshkumar is a three-time MLA and Mr. Viswanathan, a former MP, is a senior leader in the party. It was felt that it wouldn’t be appropriate for one to take the oath before the other. So it was decided that the swearing-in could be done later,” a source said.

Furthermore, sources said the TVK was planning to rope in the AIADMK, without its general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, as part of the post-poll alliance, and AIADMK members are likely to be accommodated in the Cabinet too. “All of the coalition partners will be accommodated in the Cabinet together,” said sources.

Another senior leader said the optics of the Congress MLAs taking the oath as Cabinet Ministers in the presence of Mr. Gandhi would have sent a powerful message, and that opportunity was missed. “Mr. Gandhi must have insisted that the Congress MLAs become Ministers in his presence. It would have been apt,” said a senior leader.

Sri Lankan Tamil media on Tuesday (May 5, 2026) dedicated prominent slots on their front pages to actor C. Joseph Vijay, carrying news reports and photographs of his big win in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections.   

Through Monday (May 4, 2026), some publications, especially news portals, tracked the results of the Tamil Nadu elections as they emerged, with regular updates, highlights of Mr. Vijay’s manifesto, and seats garnered by different parties. Popular Tamil newspapers, including Virakesari, Thamizhan, Thinakaran, and Thinakural led with Mr. Vijay’s victory, with headlines terming it “a humungous win” and “tsunami”, while noted cartoonist Awantha Artigala published a cartoon showing actor-politician emerging out of south India, in the Daily Mirror.  Reports and social media posts also showed supporters and fans of Mr. Vijay bursting crackers in the Northern Province to celebrate his victory.

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) V.K. Ramkumar has won the Anna Nagar constituency by a margin of around 22,000 votes. He defeated the DMK’s N. Chitrarasu and the AIADMK’s Gokula Indira.

Speaking to The Hindu, he said his immediate priority would be to improve basic civic amenities in the constituency. On meeting party leader C. Joseph Vijay later in the day, he said instructions from the party high command were expected soon.

It’s been a historic day for Tamil superstar Vijay and cadres of his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, as the party has been leading in many constituencies on the day of counting of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Since the news about TVK’s lead broke out, many celebrities from the world of cinema have been wishing Vijay on social media, further adding to the joy of TVK followers and Vijay fans.

Bollywood star Tiger Shroff, an actor whom Vijay has admitted to admiring, was the first to wish the superstar. “The faith people have in you is amazing to see. More power to you for this next chapter (sic)” wrote Shroff.