Chennai: In his first electoral outing, Vijay, chief of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), on Saturday announced that he will contest from two constituencies in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections scheduled for April 23.
Vijay said he would enter the fray as "C Joseph Vijay" from Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East.
Addressing a meeting of party functionaries, he also unveiled candidates for several other constituencies, with key members of his core team featuring prominently in the list.
Senior leaders including N Anand, Adhav Arjuna, R Arunraaj, CTR Nirmal Kumar and KA Sengkottaiyan have been fielded from constituencies such as T Nagar, Villivakkam, Gobichettipalayam and Thirupparankundram.
Positioning his party as a major contender, Vijay said the electoral contest would be between his "people's alliance TVK" and the alliance led by M K Stalin, criticising the ruling DMK-led bloc as a "patch-up".
He emphasised that candidates had been chosen based on their commitment to public service.
ALSO READ | AIADMK announces key Chennai nominees in third phase of Tamil Nadu poll preparations
Vijay also outlined a youth-focused agenda, promising measures such as a drug-free Tamil Nadu and collateral-free education loan guarantees of up to ₹20 lakh for students from Class 12 through to PhD.
Polling for all 234 Assembly constituencies in the state will be held in a single phase on April 23.