TN election results 2026: Flags raised, banners go up, TVK cadres mark fort at Panaiyur

CHENNAI: As cadres hoisted a large banner over the compound wall of Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam’s (TVK) headquarters at Panaiyur, it read “Thamilaga Mudhalvar Vijay.” The moment it went up, chants followed, then whistles, louder and sharper.

There were only a few hundred people, but the space felt dense with part celebration, part assertion. And some rage. And move around them, you could catch bits of it like “God made him CM,” “Vijay is everything for us.” “Ideology does not matter anymore.” But as they said, none of it held for long; the place is constantly by just whistles, crackers and chants of Vijay. Phones were everywhere, with many recording and sharing the moment even as it unfolded.

“I hoped that he would become CM at my age and that is finally here,” said Jagadjeesan, 63, with a TVK flag draped over his shoulders, standing a few rows behind the gate among younger supporters. “For the people, it has been 50 years of struggle. Even though governments changed between the DMK and AIADMK, no big improvement has happened. People were waiting to see this change.”

A number of young professionals had come together from different parts of the city, reflecting interest among first-time and urban voters.

“We are very happy; this is something we have wanted for a long time,” said Praveen, an IT professional with TCS. “Many of us are educated and working, but we still see the same problems in our native places lack of roads, water and public transport. Vijay will change everything,” he said.

“There is a lot of crowd because people are expecting something different,” said Selvam, an auto driver. “For many years, I have been voting for different reasons, but this time I voted only to make him CM.”

Kavitha, who had come with her family, including her five-year-old child, said women had turned up in noticeable numbers. “We chose him,” she said, adding that “Tamil Nadu will now see the power of women.”