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Chennai: Ending weeks of political speculation, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) on Wednesday announced that it will contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections as an independent candidate, naming its founder and actor Vijay as the party’s chief ministerial candidate.
The decision was formally announced at the party’s special general council meeting held at a private hotel in Mamallapuram.
The meeting chaired by Vijay was attended by over 2,000 general council members, party district secretaries and office-bearers from across the state.
The session began on a mournful note with a two-minute silence in memory of the 41 people who died in the stampede in Karur during the Vijay rally on September 27.
The tragedy, which cast a shadow over the party’s activities, was acknowledged as a “painful lesson” that strengthened the TVK’s resolve to ensure better security measures at future public events.
During the meeting, the General Council adopted 12 resolutions setting the political and policy environment for the upcoming elections.
One of the key resolutions urged the Election Commission of India to stop the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the practice could disenfranchise eligible voters.
The TVK accused both the state’s DMK government and the BJP-led central government of “failing to protect Tamil interests”, especially with regard to the repeated arrests of fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Another resolution condemned the “shocking deterioration” of law and order in Tamil Nadu, pointing to the Coimbatore college student sexual assault case as evidence of the state’s “failure” to ensure the safety of women.
The council also expressed concern about the delays in paddy procurement and the difficulties faced by farmers in the delta after harvested crops grew in the fields, and criticized the government’s alleged inaction against encroachment on wetlands. It also sought publication of a white paper on industrial investment to bring transparency in employment generation and infrastructure development.
The resolutions confirmed that decisions regarding electoral alliance would be taken only by Vijay and the party would hold its own in the 2026 elections. Meanwhile, police removed party banners and banned flags around the venue citing security concerns.
–IANS