Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief Vijay was on Monday leading against Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidates in both the constituencies he is contesting in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

After eight rounds of counting, the actor-turned-politician was leading against the DMK’s RD Shekar by over 19,000 votes from Perambur in northern Chennai. There will be 22 rounds of counting in Perambur.

In Tiruchirapalli (East), Vijay was ahead of the DMK’s S Inigo Irudayaraj by over 12,000 votes after eight rounds of counting. There will be 22 rounds of counting in Tiruchirapalli (East) as well.

Shekar had won the Perambur seat in the bye-elections held in 2019 and in the 2021 Assembly elections. Irudayaraj had won the Tiruchirapalli (East) constituency in 2021.

Follow the Tamil Nadu Assembly election results here.

At the state level, the TVK has surged ahead of both traditional Dravidian parties, the DMK and AIADMK. As of 2.05 pm, the party was leading in 112 seats, the AIADMK was ahead in 58 seats and the DMK was ahead in 47 constituencies.

The TVK is making its political debut in this Assembly election. Vijay had founded the political party on February 2, 2024.

In the 2021 elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which includes the Congress and the Left parties, won 159 seats in the 234-member Assembly, ending the 10-year tenure of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. MK Stalin had become the chief minister.

The National Democratic Alliance, comprising the AIADMK and the Bharatiya Janata Party, had won 75 seats.

Also read: Can Vijay’s electoral debut shake up Tamil Nadu’s politics?