On Sunday, as he walked into the sprawling ballroom of a five-star hotel in Chennai with a red-and-yellow shawl draped around his neck, the mood was upbeat. According to party insiders, actor-turned-politician Vijay’s selection of candidates for all 234 constituencies — including the two he is contesting — was driven by the need to field a strong presence across the state. The candidate selection in TVK was based on multiple factors: personal loyalty, specific criteria, strategic migrations, and last-minute entrants from other parties such as AIADMK, DMK, NTK, and MDMK. It also factored in the “Vijay identity.”
In fact, Vijay had personally conducted candidate interviews since November till February, until the second CBI summons, only for 60 constituencies. The party apparently did not have candidates, at least for more than 115 constituencies. And just 12 hours before the announcement of candidates on March 29 (Sunday), Vijay had consulted former AIADMK minister K.A. Sengottaiyan, who joined the TVK last year for choosing the candidates, and the former AIADMK veteran lent strong support.
For instance, certain choices in the south and the west were based on Sengottaiyan’s experience, political inputs and also his proximity to the Jayalalithaa loyalists sidelined in the AIADMK. Incidentally, the Nanguneri candidate is Reddyiarpatti V. Narayanan, who resigned from the AIADMK in protest against allotting his constituency to T.T.V. Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). He joined the TVK only a day before the candidate announcement.
In Tirunelveli, the party has chosen R.S. Murugan, a high-profile highways contractor from the Tirunelveli segment. A small-time businessman, Murugan shot to prominence after he became close to former chief minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS) during the AIADMK regime between 2011 and 2021. After fissures emerged between Edappadi K Palaniswami and OPS, Murugan joined the DMK, eyeing the Nanguneri seat.
In Cumbum, neighbouring OPS’s stronghold, in Bodiyanayakkanur constituency in Theni district, his former loyalist Jagannatha Misra is TVK’s candidate. In Kolathur, former MLA V.S. Babu, who was once with the DMK and the AIADMK, and then moved to the TVK, has been given the ticket to contest. Vijay apparently met Babu only on the day the candidate list was announced. And during the campaign, Vijay also got his name wrong, saying, “Prabhu is contesting in Kolathur.”
In Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, D. Selvam, who defected from the Congress to the TVK, just two days before the candidate announcement, will be facing Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. In Valparai, former AIADMK MLA Sridharan is the candidate. Ku.Pa. Krishna, yet another former AIADMK MLA, is contesting from Lalgudi. And former minister Sammangi and Those Mohan, who were part of the AIADMK, are also TVK candidates in this election. Also, former AIADMK speaker P. Dhanapal’s son Lokesh, who joined the TVK recently, is also contesting on a TVK ticket.
TVK insiders say that this strategy of fielding largely unknown loyalists is reminiscent of the Jayalalithaa model, which was apparently based on Sengottaiyan’s advice, where supporters vote for the leader's name rather than the individual candidate. “This is the tradition followed by both the Dravidian parties. Amma used to field loyalists even if they were new faces,” Sengottaiyan told THE WEEK.
Incidentally, less than 50 per cent of the candidates are office bearers in the party who travelled with Vijay for a long time. The newcomers have also been accommodated. “It was not an easy process. All of us went through a rigorous round of the selection process before we were declared as candidates,” says Revanth Charan, TVK candidate from Maduravoyal. “I attended a rigorous candidate interview. I am acquainted with the people here in Maduravoyal. The selection was done by Vijay anna. Only the eligible candidates were given the opportunity,” said Revanth, who is also the advocate wing coordinator for the Chennai zone of the TVK.