Ravichandran Ashwin congratulated Thalapathy Vijay after his party’s historic election victory. However, his congratulatory comments were met with caste opposition. Now the cricketer has hit back.
Ashwin posted a warm message on social media. “Naalaiya Theerpu to Netraiya Theerpu (Tomorrow’s Verdict to Yesterday’s Verdict),” he wrote. He congratulated Vijay and his group. He added that he would like to switch from being a fan to following Vijay as a leader.
“Congratulations to Thalapathy and his team for a fabulous result. Good luck and would love to turn your super fan into a leader,” the former Team India cricketer wrote.
The report drew criticism from some social media users. One user called Ashwin a “Brahmin who fears Dravidian rule”.
Ashwin replied firmly. He said his birth was not his choice.
“I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again! Who I was born was not my choice; luckily I was born to parents who are beyond brilliant,” he wrote.
“Leadership is feeling empathetic towards another person’s struggles and allowing them to grow beyond the barrier and that’s what my parents and teachers taught me. I want to live until the day we stop talking about lineage or caste,” he added.
One user said, “This is useless. These guys are clear about their agenda. In fact, each one of them believes in gender and caste. Be a good person, a good citizen. That’s enough.”
“We don’t stop trying, just because it’s hard,” Ashwin replied.
Vijay’s historic victory
Thalapathy Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu. The 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections produced a result that no one had predicted.
TVK won 108 out of 234 seats in the council. The majority mark was 118 seats. No party or alliance has crossed this threshold. Tamil Nadu now has its first ever hung assembly.
The actor-turned-politician contested from two seats, Perambur and Trichy East. He won both by significant margins. In Perambur, he defeated DMK’s RD Shekhar by 53,715 votes.
In Trichy East, he defeated DMK’s Inigo S Irudayaraj by 27,416 votes. Reports suggest that Vijay will retain Perambur and step down from Trichy East.
The biggest shock of the night came in Kolathur. TVK VS Babu defeated incumbent Chief Minister MK Stalin in his own stronghold by around 8000 votes. DMK won 59 seats and AIADMK won 47. This result broke the 62-year duopoly between the two parties.
Vijay was elected as the leader of the TVK Legislature Party. He is expected to stake a claim to form a government by May 7. Coalition talks with potential allies continue.
