TVK Candidate List For Tamil Nadu Election: Vijay Likely From Velachery; Bussy Anand For T Nagar

Actor-politician Vijay's TVK has announced that it is going to field candidates in all 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu. He has already begun interviewing potential candidates for the upcoming 2026 Assembly election.

Last week, Vijay was at the party headquarters in Panaiyur on the outskirts of Chennai meeting aspirants who are seeking TVK tickets, last week. The party reportedly received more than 4,200 applications from individuals keen to contest the Assembly polls.

As pre the recent reports, 60 aspirants were interviewed in the initial round, with the leadership expected to shortlist candidates soon. The party has already indicated that it intends to field nominees in all 234 Assembly constituencies in the state, a bold strategy aimed at positioning itself as a serious alternative in Tamil Nadu's traditionally bipolar political landscape dominated by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

While the party leadership has not officially confirmed its candidate list, several names are doing the rounds within party circles. Senior party functionary Bussy Anand is widely expected to be fielded from the high-profile T. Nagar constituency in Chennai. Meanwhile, party figure Aadhav Arjuna is being considered for the Villivakkam seat, while Arun Raj may contest from Tiruchengode.

Other names reportedly under discussion include K. A. Sengottaiyan for Gobichettipalayam, Nirmal Kumar for Usilampatti and Marie Wilson for Colachel, although party insiders stress that the final list is yet to be announced.

The focus, however, remains on where Vijay himself will contest from. Early speculation suggested that the actor-turned-politician could enter the fray from Virugambakkam in Chennai, an area associated with his family. Other constituencies considered included Perambur and Tiruchy East, while some discussions even examined seats beginning with the letter "V", such as Virudhachalam and Vikravandi, reportedly based on astrological advice aligning with his name and the party's name.

More recent internal discussions, however, indicate that Velachery in south Chennai may emerge as the preferred choice. Party insiders say the constituency offers a large pool of young voters, IT professionals, gig-economy workers, and urban migrants-demographics that TVK believes may be more receptive to Vijay's political messaging.

Founded on February 2, 2024, TVK is entering the electoral arena for the first time and has been attempting to carve out space as a new political force in the state. Though the party had earlier indicated it was open to sharing power with potential allies, no major political formation has joined hands with it so far.

The Election Commission has announced that polling for the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will take place on April 23, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 4. The election process will begin with the gazette notification on March 30, while the last date for filing nominations is April 6.

With the candidate selection process now underway and the first list expected soon, all eyes are on whether Vijay's TVK can translate the star power of its founder into electoral momentum in its debut Assembly contest.