Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026 | A reporter's diary: Come May 4, will Thalapathy Vijay turn out to be the disruptor, kingmaker or king?

Maatram (change) seems to be the buzz sweeping Tamil Nadu.

Over 10 days, as I crisscrossed from state capital Chennai to the coastal city of Thoothukudi, I heard it everywhere, from roadside soda stalls to coffee joints to walking tracks.

The arguments for and against shifted by town and region, but maatram vendum (we need change) never faded.

Vijay and his Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) have fired up first-time voters and youth across the state. Unlike their previous generation, who are guarded about who they vote for, Gen Z is vocal about their preferences.

Even women under 45, drawn by his screen charisma, see him as the fresh face politics needs. Supporters and skeptics are fiercely split, low on Vijay's ideology or alternative plank but high on conviction.

In my 20 years covering elections, I have never seen a newcomer like Vijay dominate the conversation this way – not just youngsters, but across ages.

This election is a reporter's delight. I travelled 2,673 km (that's what the car's trip meter had clocked) across 12 districts, covering almost every region of Tamil Nadu.

For his supporters, it is less about party symbols than the desire to break a half-a-century duopoly of DMK and AIADMK. Change is all they need.

Many acknowledged the contributions of the two parties but felt it was time for a fresh start. Reason they say is both Dravidian parties are corrupt. The fatigue over the two parties is visible, but will these sentiments turn into ballots is anybody's guess.

But older voters, long loyal to their established parties, are cautious.

On a sweltering afternoon in Karur, holding a soda sarbath, I asked the vendor, Mary, who she would vote for. Her daughter, with her toddler in arms, blurted, "My choice is Vijay."

A lifelong Two Leaves voter, Mary's voice softened. "Change is not bad. Give the newcomer a chance. If he delivers, he stays, else, he perishes." The daughter promised to drag the family along to the polling station.

About 200 kilometers away in Coimbatore, on a lazy Sunday, four IT professionals debated fiercely on Race Course Road. Sabari, the die-hard Vijay fan, pushed for a fresh start. His friend Albert grilled, "What is his vision for the state? How is he different?"

"I can't take off on April 23 as I don't get along well with my manager," Krishna told me, finding an excuse to not vote. When I said April 23 was a public holiday, not just him, all four promised to vote.

Nearby, Sam and Aakash struck a completely different tone. Sam criticized Vijay's Karur missteps but shrugged. "One chance? Yes, we can give him," he said.

What struck me was that youngsters knew the nuances, voices differing, but all engaged.

As I checked out of my room in Thanjavur in the Cauvery Delta region, Joe Leo, a 22-year-old college student, said he was pushing his parents to vote for Vijay. "I have watched him since my childhood. He won't let us down. My mother is with me now, my father too will convert before April 23."

In Thiruparankundram foothills near Madurai, Mala spoke about a family pact. She and her husband would stick with established parties, but her college-going kids would vote for Vijay. "It is their choice," she said.

Families have had conversations about elections. I could hear stories of parents and grandparents being pressurized by young people at home to vote for TVK.

Old loyalties linger, though. 75-year-old Lakshmi, born in Myanmar, kept asking me who I would vote for. I didn't relent, and she opened up after 10 minutes. "I will vote for my Thalaivar. Till I die, it is only ilai (Two Leaves of the AIADMK)."

Then came the punch. "My granddaughters have picked Visai (Vijay)."

After a sumptuous fish fry and mutton chukka at a popular non-vegetarian restaurant in Madurai, I met a young auto driver and asked if he was also going to vote for Vijay. He scoffed at me. "It is Seeman. What we need today is ideology, not vibe."

A scooter couple spotted me from TV. "Boomers like us stick to DMK or AIADMK," the man laughed. "Those at home (kids) are unanimous."

Over mutta papps (egg puffs) with a filter coffee, 31-year-old Prithviraj added, "Change is constant."

I asked what if TVK doesn't win this election? "His (Vijay’s) first film Naalaya Theerpu (Tomorrow's Judgement) was a failure and so were his subsequent films. But he kept acting until he succeeded. So, I believe he will stay in politics."

But why doesn't he come out and campaign? Sambath shot back, "Why don't you let him (Vijay) step out? There are hundreds of conditions imposed only on him."

At an ice cream parlour in Tharuvaikulam in Thoothukudi district, Sakthi Keerthana synced her debut vote with Vijay. "His first as politician, mine as voter."

33-year-old Udhaya at a coastal village was explicit that Vijay's aim was 2031 but he would still vote for him on April 23. "He knows that he can't defeat (M K) Stalin this time. He will certainly govern the state in 2031. Let him be in politics for five years and learn. Practice makes people perfect. Don't you agree?" he asked me. “I voted for Seeman in the past.”

At a café in Thoothukudi, Ruby said she and her husband had always voted for the DMK, but they would vote for TVK this time. "My relatives will still vote for the DMK, but we won't," she told me. "Just a change, nothing else. If we can vote him in, we can vote him out as well, right?" she asked.

Ruby and her colleagues had taken off from work for a few hours to see Vijay when he visited the city earlier this month.

"I saw him. He waved at all of us," Saranya said. "Haan, as if he (Vijay) knew you. He didn't wave at you, he waved at people generally," Ruby pulled her junior's colleague's leg.

Vijay has sparked a discussion. Grandkids badger elders and even campaign workers who come to seek votes by blowing a Whistle.

"My 10-year-old son blew a whistle to a candidate from a different party when he was canvassing for votes. He was embarrassed, and I had to apologise," Divya laughed.

In Ariyalur, Ethiraj resisted. "No way. Rising Sun for me." "Let him (Vijay) wait for five more years. Why hurry? Why did he not come to meet people?"

A senior Tamil Nadu politician on the campaign trail summed it up. "Inter-generational voting is happening now; five years on, patterns flip."

Come May 4, disruptor, kingmaker or king?

Vijay has already changed the conversation, turning apathy into argument and general cynicism into public anticipation.