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News Topical, Digital Desk : Winds of change may be blowing in Tamil Nadu politics this time. In this state, where Dravidian politics has reigned supreme for over 50 years, a single party is riding a strong wave, leaving the DMK and AIADMK behind, according to the Axis My India exit poll.
There has been a lot of talk about the "Vijay effect" in this exit poll and many believe that actor and politician Vijay, head of the newly formed party TVK, could become the kingmaker.
Meanwhile, Axis My India has projected that his two-year-old party could win 98 to 120 of the state's 234 seats, where the majority mark is 118. This is a sharp departure from other surveyors, who have generally predicted a second term for the DMK-Congress alliance.
37% people named Vijay as their first choice
Axis My India says that one reason for TVK's potential dominance is that people want the 51-year-old actor-politician as Chief Minister. Their data shows that Vijay is the most preferred candidate for Chief Minister, with 37 percent of people wanting him.
DMK Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who is seeking a second term, is the choice of 35 percent, and former Chief Minister E. Palaniswami is the choice of 22 percent. Tamil Nadu is a state where film stars often become prominent leaders, gaining popularity among the public and reaching the highest office in the state.
Some examples include M.G. Ramachandran, his wife Janaki Ramachandran, and J. Jayalalithaa. Furthermore, Vijay has carved out a distinct identity for himself ideologically, making this assembly election a three-way contest.
TVK sets itself apart
His party, TVK, has consistently rejected pre-election alliances and positioned itself as an independent alternative to the state's two major Dravidian parties. Both parties emerged from social justice movements that opposed caste inequalities and advocated for social reforms. Vijay maintained this stance even when there was strong speculation that his party would join the NDA alliance.
Earlier today, dismissing exit poll projections, TVK spokesperson Radhan Pandit predicted that "our Vijay will become the Chief Minister." We are ignoring these exit polls. I am confident that we will make a clean sweep in this election by winning 170 or more seats, even 140.
"We have studied very well. We even conducted our own survey. We are confident of getting at least 45% of the votes. It is not 20-25%. There are 108 hours left for the counting of votes. In the 109th hour, we will take the oath. Our Vijay will become the Chief Minister in an extraordinary manner."
New voters overwhelmingly supported Vijay
Data from Axis My India shows that TVK garnered a significant share of first-time voters; 68% of them voted for the party. This estimate is based on data collected from approximately 45,000 people.
Additionally, 59 percent of those aged 20-29 and 45 percent of those aged 30-39 also voted for the new party. Of the 35 percent who advocated for change in this election, 77 percent overwhelmingly supported TVK.
When senior journalist Vir Sanghvi asked if Vijay could replace the AIADMK as the DMK's main opponent, Pradeep Gupta of Axis My India said that this was "because people want change, and especially in this new era, they want change quickly. Especially because for the last 50-plus years, they have only seen and experienced the DMK and the AIADMK."
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