Udhayanidhi Stalin's words are Undefendable. Excuses, such as 'did not intend to hurt' do not cut it. An unconditional apology is needed. The threshold for public conduct needs to be very high. Why is it so difficult for politicians to say sorry, I made a mistake ?
Chitra Lakshmanan’s Chai With Chitra is one of the best interview shows on Tamil YouTube today.
Biggest strengths:
His camaraderie with industry peers, built over decades, creates a sense of comfort that brings out candid and authentic conversations.
His direct, no-nonsense questions.
Most importantly, he lets his guests speak without unnecessary interruptions, allowing the conversation to flow naturally.
This morning I attended the Swearing-In Ceremony of Chief Minister of #TamilNadu C Joseph Vijay at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in #Chennai. I had the honour and privilege to make a courtesy call on #TamilagaVettriKazhagam Chief #Vijay last June. We look forward to working together to further strengthen & deepen SG-Tamil Nadu ties - CG Pang
@TvkVijayHq
#Vijay
#TVK
#SwearingIn
#ChiefMinister
#CMJosephVijay
Lessons I learnt from the Tamil Nadu Election results today.
1. It is not necessary to campaign hard every day for weeks together.
2. Booth Agents are not always essential to mobilize voters
3. A powerful manifesto is not required.
4. Political experience is not needed.
5.. Experienced advisors are optional.
6. Meeting the media or taking questions from the press is not necessary. (I thought it was)
7. Money does not always buy votes.
8. Massive ad spends don't get results.
9. Prominent local candidates with clout aren't necessary.
10. Caste is getting to be much less of a factor.
Will these revert in later elections or has a decisive change been made?
#tamilnadulegislativeassemblyelection2026
#TNElections
I don't think people outside TN understand the scale of what Vijay has managed to achieve today. Most people in Tamilnadu themselves are shocked with the kind of numbers Vijay has pulled out of his sheer cinematic popularity .
They said Vijay was no MGR and he proved them right. Even the mighty MGR with decades of prior political experience took 5 years after starting ADMK to become CM. Vijay did it in 2 years.
They said you needed booth level agents, an organizational cadre strength, and last mile campaigning across 234 constituencies. Vijay gave 15 minute speeches that were emotional, rhetorical and repetitive. He barely covered 50% of constituencies.
They said he won't even find 233 candidates. He did. Except for KAS, almost all of them were debut candidates.
They said no party has won without making coalitions with caste or religion based or communist parties. Not even smaller parties allied with him. But Vijay went all alone.
They said he was a WFH politician whose fandom was merely a social media illusion. His fans made a celebration out of the voting day, moving mountains and crossing oceans to cast their vote.
They said he can never breach the Chennai fortress of DMK. He pitted a nobody against sitting CM MKS and made him won. Entire Chennai has been breached
They said he won't even cross double digits in seats. He now has won three digit seats.
They trolled him as Anil, a comment he made about being a squirrel that helped ADMK win long back. But now he has become a giant slaying dragon that breathes fire.
Many things that were considered impossible were made possible today, just because of VIJAY and his popularity. Rules are being rewritten. Expert psephologists are being humbled. Sitting ministers are being taken down by unknown debutantes.
A lot remains to be seen in terms of Vijay's policymaking and governance and if he can remain truly secular. The criticisms can wait. But for today, we can all wish him well for SINGLEHANDEDLY putting a full stop to the Dravidian megafactory that had all the money and the muscle.
For today. we can all breathe in this fresh air of change, where our sacred Tamilnadu shall be ruled by a non-Dravidian party after 50 long years. V for Valiant. V for Victory. V for Vaagai. V for Vijay.
Lessons I learnt from the Tamil Nadu Election results today.
1. It is not necessary to campaign hard every day for weeks together.
2. Booth Agents are not always essential to mobilize voters
3. A powerful manifesto is not required.
4. Political experience is not needed.
5.. Experienced advisors are optional.
6. Meeting the media or taking questions from the press is not necessary. (I thought it was)
7. Money does not always buy votes.
8. Massive ad spends don't get results.
9. Prominent local candidates with clout aren't necessary.
10. Caste is getting to be much less of a factor.
Will these revert in later elections or has a decisive change been made?
#tamilnadulegislativeassemblyelection2026
#TNElections