Actor-politician Vijay led early trends in Perambur but trailed in Tiruchirappalli East on counting day, setting up a split verdict in the two DMK-held seats he chose as the launchpad for his electoral debut.
Perambur, Assembly constituency no. 12, sits in North Chennai under the Chennai North Lok Sabha seat. With around 2.22 lakh voters, it is one of the city’s most visible urban segments and a traditional arena of Dravidian politics.
The seat has leaned toward the DMK in recent elections. In 2021, DMK’s R.D. Sekar won comfortably with 52.53% of the vote, defeating PTMK’s N.R. Dhanabalan, who polled about 25.10%. Earlier cycles saw shifts, including an AIADMK win in 1991, reflecting changing political currents in the city.
Perambur is being framed in television coverage as a battleground because Vijay picked it as his debut constituency, directly challenging the DMK on its North Chennai stronghold.
The dense working and lower-middle-class profile, with industrial pockets and old residential zones, gives the seat symbolic weight for a party projecting itself as a people’s platform.
Vijay, as TVK chief, is also contesting Tiruchirappalli East, another DMK-held seat. His decision to fight from two non-safe constituencies underlines an aggressive strategy aimed at testing his appeal against the ruling party across regions.
TVK is contesting all 234 seats on its own, positioning Perambur and Trichy East as twin flagship contests in north and central Tamil Nadu.
As of 09.30 am, Vijay’s TVK leads in 63 seats, overtaking MK Stalin’s DMK, which has secured 62 seats. (NDTV)