Vijay's dual nominations cleared

Actor-turned-politician Vijay, leader of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has successfully secured acceptance of his nomination papers from both Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, following the submission of revised affidavits to address discrepancies.

Vijay had originally filed his nomination from Perambur at Dr Ambedkar Government Arts College in Vyasarpadi on March 30, and later submitted papers for Tiruchirappalli East on April 2.

However, scrutiny of his affidavits revealed inconsistencies that quickly became a talking point in political and social circles.

In his Tiruchirappalli East nomination, Vijay had declared two criminal cases against him. In contrast, the affidavit submitted for Perambur stated that no criminal cases were pending.

Additionally, his age was listed differently in the two filings -- 52 years in Perambur and 51 years in Tiruchirappalli East -- raising questions about the accuracy of the submissions.

The discrepancies sparked widespread discussion on social media, with some observers suggesting that the Perambur nomination could face rejection if corrections were not made promptly.

Responding swiftly, Vijay submitted a revised affidavit for the Perambur constituency on April 4. The updated document aligned the disclosures with those made in the Tiruchirappalli East filing, including details of the criminal cases.

One case pertains to a protest-related incident in Kolathur, where a large gathering allegedly caused public inconvenience, leading to a police case at Peravallur station. Another case relates to an incident in Madurai on August 21 last year, where a security-related altercation during a public event reportedly led to injuries and a subsequent complaint.

The revised affidavit also corrected his age to 51 years in the Perambur filing.

The updated documents were submitted to the Returning Officer by party representatives, including legal counsel.

Election officials confirmed that since the errors were rectified within the permissible time, there was no ground for rejection.

Despite objections raised by the DMK and some independent candidates during scrutiny, Vijay’s nominations from both constituencies were accepted.

Meanwhile, nominations of key leaders, including Chief Minister M. K. Stalin from Kolathur, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, and BJP leader Nainar Nagendran from Sattur, were also accepted, along with several other prominent candidates across the state.