Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 21 : A 33-year-old man from Chennai, identified as Prabhakaran, died after collapsing on his way to attend the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Madurai district, hospital authorities confirmed on Thursday.
Prabhakaran had left Chennai last night with friends in a van to attend the event.
The vehicle stopped near Chakkimangalam in Madurai, where he stepped out to relieve himself. When he did not return, his friends found him unconscious and rushed him to the intensive care unit of Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital, where doctors later declared him dead, said the hospital dean.
Ahead of the forthcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections, actor-politician and TVK chief Vijay began his mega rally in Madurai district on Thursday afternoon.
Vijay intends to present his party, TVK, as a third front in Tamil Nadu politics, an alternative to both the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
The TVK president held the party's second state conference in Madurai, marked by a massive show of strength as party workers gathered in large numbers to participate in the rally.
Vijay set the tone for the forthcoming assembly polls, asserting that his party's "ideological enemy" was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) remains its "political enemy".
While addressing a mega rally in Tamil Nadu's Madurai, Vijay said that the contest in the 2026 assembly elections would be between the ruling DMK and his party, TVK.
"Our priority is the safety of women, elders and children. Our government would be friendly to whoever needs special attention, like farmers, youths, transgender people, the elderly without care, and people with physical disabilities. TVK is not a party that was established solely for political benefits. Our only ideological enemy is the BJP and our only political enemy is the DMK," Vijay asserted.
Drawing historical parallels, Vijay said, "Tamil Nadu has seen big political changes in 1967 and 1977. A similar history will repeat in 2026."