Chennai, May 21:
Pollster Pradeep Gupta has revealed that actor-turned-politician Vijay was already emerging as a serious political force in Tamil Nadu nearly a year before the Assembly election, with steady growth in public support.
In an interview, Gupta said his agency Axis My India tracked Vijay’s vote share rising from around 25% six months before the polls to 35% on election day. The gradual climb — 28% three months prior and 30% a month before voting — indicated a clear upward trajectory.
Despite most pollsters backing the DMK alliance, Axis My India projected Vijay’s TVK as a strong contender, estimating 98–120 seats. The final tally of 108 seats closely matched their midpoint projection, while the vote share prediction proved accurate.
Gupta noted that once alliances were finalised, voters increasingly saw Vijay as a frontrunner rather than just an alternative. His decades-long cinema popularity, coupled with anti-establishment roles in recent films, helped shape his political image.
He also pointed to the decline of AIADMK after the death of J Jayalalithaa as a key factor. For decades, Tamil Nadu politics revolved around the DMK and AIADMK, a system rooted in the legacy of leaders like M G Ramachandran.