Karaikudi (Tamil Nadu), May 4 (IANS) Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Monday congratulated Vijay and his newly-formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for a “spectacular” electoral debut in Tamil Nadu.

In a huge upset for the DMK and AIADMK-led alliances, the state Assembly election trends gave a decisive lead to the TVK. The debutant party’s surge marks an upheaval in the state’s political landscape.

“The people have voted for them,” the Congress MP told reporters.

He appreciated the TVK chief for his “spectacular success”

He further said: “The people have voted for change in Tamil Nadu and the mandate is with them (TVK) now to cobble up a working majority and to give a good government to the people of Tamil Nadu. I am sure they have a lot of expectations from him.”

Chidambaram asserted: “He (Vijay) has broken many conventional operating procedures in politics.”

As counting of votes was still underway in Tamil Nadu, the TVK maintained a commanding lead, with trends from the Election Commission of India at 8:36 p.m. showing the party having won 79 seats and ahead in 28 others.

Additionally, the TVK chief was leading from both Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East Assembly constituencies, the seats from which he contested.

Moreover, the Congress MP noted that there are many lessons that his party will have to learn from the campaign and the Assembly election.

“As a political party, we will take all these points from this campaign,” he said.

He, however, added: “But there is nothing to take away from Vijay”. “It is a spectacular success for his party,” he reiterated.

Earlier in the day, the TVK chief visited his parents’ residence in Chennai and waved to the people present outside.

Meanwhile, Vijay’s father told reporters that his son “always wanted to do something for society”.

“For more than 20 years, he (Vijay) had been planning, and in his mind, he wanted to do something for society. But he was expecting the correct time, so he felt this would be the correct time,” S.A. Chandrasekhar said on his son’s sterling electoral debut.

Significantly, Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin lost the Kolathur Assembly constituency, marking a significant setback for his party and signalling a dramatic shift in the state’s political landscape.

–IANS

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