Around 1.30 pm, under a punishing sun in Tamil Nadu’s Nagercoil town, families hurried along the highway towards Kanniyakumari. On two-wheelers, with infants as young as six months held close, many wore red and gold-yellow mufflers draped around their necks — a visible sign of allegiance.
They were all headed to see Vijay, the actor-turned-politician and chief of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
On April 12, a Sunday, shops from Thuckalay to Kanniyakumari remained shuttered as crowds poured into the coastal town, where Vijay cycled through the streets as part of his campaign.
Among them was Suresh Peter from Eraniel town, travelling with his wife Rani and their two-year-old son on a motorbike. When asked why he would make the journey with his young child, in such heat, and despite fears following incidents like the Karur stampede, Peter did not hesitate.
“I would walk miles just to see him,” he said. “This love is in my blood. I want to pass it on to my child, he should carry this love for Vijay to the next generation. He is our leader.”
To an outsider, the devotion may seem excessive, even irrational. But on the ground in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, especially along its coastlines, it signals something deeper: a political shift shaped as much by emotion and identity as by issues, now finding expression in the rise of Vijay and his fledgling party.
At the core of this shift is a deep-seated grievance over political representation.
Many in the fishing community pointed out that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has failed to field candidates from among them in key constituencies for decades.
This perceived exclusion, along with a strong resistance to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as an alternative, has created a political vacuum along the coast.
This is the space that Vijay steps into. The TVK party is drawing attention not just as a new option, but as a viable one.
The momentum is further fuelled by long-pending demands such as Scheduled Tribe status, lack of housing rights and title deeds, dissatisfaction with welfare measures including delayed subsidies, and a broader anti-incumbency sentiment — all of which are converging to shape voter behaviour in these coastal constituencies.
Ananya, is just 12 years old from Kovalam area of Kanniyakumari. At least 10 times a day she would remind her parents to vote for Vijay.
“I voted for All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) all my life, my husband for DMK. Now both my son and daughter are forcing us to vote for Vijay. I have already made up my mind that this time I would vote for TVK,” Nirosini, Ananya’s mother, says.
Many in the region, neither the old nor the young, know who their TVK candidate is. “We will vote looking at the symbol,” said Nirosini.
Peter, a fisherman from Chinnamuttom, says there is a growing desire for change within his hamlet. “More than anything, it is the youngsters here who are campaigning for him within their own families. My children made me promise, placing my hands on their heads, that I would vote only for Vijay. I have been voting for the DMK for the last 30 years, but this time I will vote for the TVK.” he said. “We need a change.”
Much like the rest of the state, this call for change runs across the coastal belt too.
Fishermen point to several reasons for backing Vijay this time, with strong anti-incumbency sentiment topping the list. “We are tired of the DMK government; they have not provided adequate support for fishermen. We don’t really have an alternative here, the AIADMK is not very different, and the BJP is something we will never accept. We are directly opposed to them. So now, our only alternative is TVK,” said Jesuraj, another fisherman.
Father Churchill, founder of the South Asian Fishermen Association and a resident of the Colachel constituency in Kanniyakumari district, believes the shift could be significant.
In constituencies such as Kanniyakumari, Nagercoil, Killiyoor, and Colachel, as well as parts of Thoothukudi district and Tirunelveli district, where fishermen’s votes often determine outcomes, he expects a noticeable impact. “I am not saying TVK candidates will win. But the large victory margins of other candidates will certainly come down,” he said. “This community has always supported new faces, we backed M G Ramachandran, Vijayakanth, Seeman, and now Vijay.”
“In Kanniyakumari district, the last time the DMK fielded a candidate from our community was in 1996, in Colachel,” says Fr. Churchill.
Before that, it was Lourdhammal Simon in 1957, who later became a minister and brought significant development to the community, he explained. “Now the Indian National Congress (INC) has fielded a candidate from our community in Colachel, but that decision came much later. By then, people had already begun gravitating towards Vijay,” he adds.
Nanjil Ravi, president of Anaithu Meenavargal Sangam, which is a fisherfolk welfare association, said that the shift is widespread. “This Vijay wave is visible everywhere. Tamil Nadu has 14 coastal districts and around 610 fishing villages. The fishing community accounts for, nearly 10% of the state’s vote share. In about 38 assembly constituencies, fishermen’s votes are decisive. Yet, the DMK has not given even a single seat to someone from our community,” he said.
According to Fr. Churchill the fisher community of South TN doesn’t consider DMK anti minority, “But they did not do anything bigger for the community,” he added.
However in northern coastal regions Nanjil Ravi points to growing discontent since 2021. “Since then, the community has been at loggerheads with the DMK. In the 2021 elections, only one candidate from our community, K P Shankar from Tiruchendur, was elected. We expected he would be given a Cabinet post, but that did not happen,” he said and added that from the times of M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi, J Jayalalithaa, and C N Annadurai, there was a practice of giving cabinet representation to someone from the fishermen community if they were elected. “But when M K Stalin assumed power, that did not happen,” said Nanjil.
He also raised concerns over policy promises.
“In 2021, Anitha R Radhakrishnan, who is from the Nadar community, was appointed Minister for Fisheries, Fishermen Welfare, and Animal Husbandry. But he does not fully understand our community’s issues. The DMK government had promised to increase diesel subsidies for boats, but did not act on it for over three-and-a-half years. Only in October 2025, at a public event in Ramanathapuram district, was the subsidy increased by 100 litres, and that too after years of delay,” said Nanjil.
Unresolved issues such as the lack of title deeds for houses in fishermen settlements and long-pending demands for reservations have fuelled strong anti-incumbency sentiment across the northern coastal regions.
“For the past 40 years, we have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status. Every political party has promised it, but none has delivered. This same DMK has given 30 seats to the Telugu community who have around 5% vote share, while we, with nearly 10%, have not been given even one. They see us only as a vote bank, nothing more,” he added.
During the first week of April, a meeting was held in Tiruchirappalli by a group of Catholic leaders. Many within the leadership were leaning towards supporting DMK. But few leaders who represented the fishing community strongly opposed it.
“Youngsters in every family are in support of TVK. We cannot underestimate this move. Children in every household have already convinced their parents to vote for Vijay. Kejriwal was also not a politician before he entered politics, so everyone should get a chance,” said a catholic leader who took part in this.
According to Fr.Churchill, support for Vijay within fishing communities is being driven from within households, with youngsters and even children campaigning among their own families before it reaches the public sphere.
Anbarasan, a fisherman from Kasimedu, says the desire for change is urgent.
“We desperately need a change. For many of us who do not want to vote for the BJP, the TVK feels like the right alternative. People say Vijay lacks political experience, but we see him as someone who has been socially engaged for years. Tamil Nadu has witnessed his philanthropic work. He has stayed connected with people, made films for them, and for years has spoken about people-centric politics through his movies,” said Anbarasan.
As voters look for an option that positions itself against the BJP while also moving away from the DMK and the AIADMK, Vijay appears to be drawing more attention than Seeman and his Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), largely due to his celebrity appeal.
“I have been voting for NTK for a long time, and I still intend to,” says Rajappan from Kovalam fishing village. “But at times, my mind wavers because of how much we admire Vijay on screen. Many people are influenced by this search for an alternative, combined with fandom.”
Many have also pointed out that Vijay, who has a Christian name, benefits in southern coastal constituencies.
“We are not sure whether he follows Christianity or not, but having a Christian name certainly provides an advantage, especially when the BJP is a direct opponent in districts like Kanniyakumari. A leader from a minority community is also seen as a positive factor,” Fr. Churchill added.
Many from the coastal villages in Tamil Nadu believe that this crowd which rushes towards Vijay will not translate to votes for him.
Venice, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader from Kovalam of Kanniyakumari says, “Half of the crowd is just going to see him out of fandom. Many of them are minors too. So it won’t convert to votes,” he said.
According to him there are also people in fishing villages who really care about real politics. “You cannot turn into a politician overnight. He should have that experience.”
Unlike in Besant Nagar fishing village, in Nochikuppam fishing village, among the hundreds of boats on the shore, only one or two carried TVK flags. It also appeared that there are strong reservations about Vijay.
“Initially, we were in a position to welcome Vijay’s party and vote for them. But over time, we realised there is not much difference. TVK representatives have not met us or discussed the problems faced by the fishing community. Without meeting us, how will they understand our issues? So we lost hope,” K Bharathy, president of Neythal Makkal Katchi party, told TNM from Nochikuppam.
“None of their leaders are approachable. This is a place with more than 40 years of history of protests for the rights of fishermen. We are still fighting for ST status, and none of the fishing families along this coastline have received title deeds for their land or houses, which makes us vulnerable to eviction. They should study this place, its history and its problems,” he said and added “Nothing has been done, so we decided to change our decision to support Vijay.”