On Monday, the TN CM made of Tiruchirappalli a show of strength. The roadshow was a way to say thanks and to send a message at the same time. With party men and locals at his side, Vijay went back to the people of Tiruchirappalli East – the constituency he eventually left to hold on to Perambur in Chennai – to pay his respects.
There is more to it than just the look of things. This is the ground where, on September 13, 2025, he put out his ‘I am coming’ call to the state, a turning point in going from a star to the head of the government. Coming back here on Monday was a way of underlining how important the city is to him and to TVK’s operation on the ground.
Crowds make it a citywide affair
Vijay made his way from the airport in a van to St Joseph College, about a 10 km run. You had people on either side of the street with flags in hand, throwing down flowers and hollering his name as he passed. He was up front in the vehicle, not missing a chance to wave to those who had come out.
A police salute was in order when he got there. Then came the greetings from Aadhav Arjuna, S Ramesh and other ministers, as well as Durai Vaiko, the Lok Sabha MP, before he was on to the public meeting. It was a bit of protocol and a bit of rousing up the base, all in one.
The pull of Tiruchirappalli
You could call it an expression of thanks to the folks in Tiruchirappalli East. After all, he won there before he put in his papers to keep his seat in Perambur. So when he put in an appearance on the college grounds at 4.15 PM or so, it was a no-nonsense way of making contact with his supporters.
It does something for the spirits of a TVK worker. And for the residents, it is a chance to be in the room with the top man in the state, outside of the capital. It is a link that has been in place since the 2025 campaign got under way.
By the numbers
Here is what the day was made of:
– Some 10 km of roadshow
– 4.15 PM for the address
– The start date of the tour: 13 September 2025
Security and the players involved
They put in place a firm security plan for the roadshow and the meeting, knowing there would be a lot of people around. Police were on the job at the main points and the traffic was rerouted to let the convoy through and to keep the crowds from spilling over.
Order was the name of the game. It was to put any concerns from the diversions to rest and to make sure the CM was on view but safe. For the authorities, it was a matter of handling the crowd with everyone watching.
Reading the room
The turnout was big, as you would expect with Vijay. Some have made the trip from the next district over, and the mood was anything but quiet. It was a festival of sorts, not just in the heart of the city.
If you are an observer, the numbers speak for the kind of network that has put TVK and its leader on the map. Put the state’s formality, the party workers and the locals in the mix and you have a message for friends and foes alike as we head into the next election.
Holding it at the college made for a good setting. St Joseph College gave him a stage with some civic weight to it. It made the whole thank-you thing feel like open politics, not something behind closed doors.
To the voters in the East, the point was clear: we haven’t forgotten you, even if I had to step aside to stay in Perambur. By being here to put in a word of thanks, he has a line of communication open for down the road.
For the TVK side of things, it was a way to get everyone in the fold and raise some morale. For the city, a test of their mettle. For the opposition, a nudge that when Vijay is in town, it is meant to be seen across the state.
With the noise and the flowers, the roadshow was a case in point for how things work in Tamil Nadu: the energy on the street is a fair measure of a leader. In the city that saw his 2025 push get off the ground, Monday proved he can still put on a show and have the people there for it.
