₹624 Crore, Zero Crimes, One Ballot: Everything Inside Vijay's Election Affidavit
By StoryRendered | Tamil Nadu Elections 2026 | March 31, 2026
On the morning of March 30, 2026, a man walked into the GCC Building in Vyasarpadi, Chennai, and handed a 27-page notarised document to Returning Officer Geetha. The man was C. Joseph Vijay — known to the world simply as Thalapathy Vijay — Tamil cinema's biggest superstar, and now, a first-time election candidate.
That document, Form 26 submitted to the Election Commission of India, would go on to become one of the most talked-about election affidavits in Indian political history. It declared total assets of ₹6,24,74,19,206 — six hundred and twenty-four crore, seventy-four lakh, nineteen thousand, two hundred and six rupees. Every single rupee in his name alone.
India's most watched political debut had officially begun.
From Blockbusters to the Ballot Box
To understand the weight of this moment, you need to understand where Vijay comes from.
On 2 February 2024, Vijay announced the launch of his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and stated his intent to contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections. It was a declaration that had been years in the making. In July 2009, Vijay had organised his fan clubs — reportedly numbering around 85,000 across Tamil Nadu — under the umbrella of a welfare association titled Vijay Makkal Iyakkam.
The transition from superstar to politician was not sudden. It was methodical. On 27 October 2024, TVK held its first political conference in Vikravandi, which was reportedly attended by over 800,000 people. In the rally, Vijay unveiled the party's ideology as secular social justice, supporting social justice, secularism, egalitarianism, two-language policy, and democracy.
During the conference, Vijay termed the Bharatiya Janata Party as an "ideological opponent" due to its right-wing politics and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam as a "political adversary" due to its alleged corruption and dynastic politics.
By March 2026, Vijay's party had grown into a full-fledged political force. On 13 February 2025, the party announced a large-scale enrollment drive with plans to appoint over 70,000 booth agents and restructure its internal hierarchy in preparation for the 2026 state elections.
Then came the moment of truth. The actor, who formally entered politics by founding TVK in 2024, declared that he himself would contest from two seats — Perambur and Trichy East — and would file his nomination as "C Joseph Vijay".
The Affidavit: What the Numbers Say
The Headline Figure
The 27-page notarised Form 26, submitted to the Election Commission and signed in Chennai, lists all assets solely in Vijay's name, totalling ₹6,24,74,19,206. This is not a family asset pool, not a combined declaration — every rupee in that figure belongs to one man.
The breakdown is as follows:
Movable Assets: ₹404.58 crore Immovable Assets (Market Value): ₹220.15 crore Grand Total: ₹624.74 crore
To put that in perspective, his rival in Perambur — the sitting DMK MLA — and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin himself filed his nomination papers from the Kolathur constituency, declaring movable and immovable assets worth over ₹6.26 crore. Vijay's wealth is nearly 100 times that of the Chief Minister's declared assets.
Cash in Hand vs. Crores in Banks
Here is one of the most striking contrasts in the affidavit. Despite being worth over ₹624 crore, Vijay's personal movable assets include ₹2 lakh cash in hand and bank deposits exceeding ₹213 crore in various accounts.
Vijay has reportedly declared ₹213 crore in deposits at Indian Overseas Bank and another ₹53 crore in Axis Bank. Across all accounts combined, total deposits exceed ₹323 crore — making his banking portfolio alone bigger than the total wealth of most politicians in the country.
The Property Empire
Vijay's immovable assets span prime real estate across Tamil Nadu, with a heavy concentration in Vilpatti village, Kodaikanal taluk, Dindigul district. The portfolio includes extensive agricultural and non-agricultural lands, commercial built-up properties, and residential houses.
His disclosures include two estates in Kodaikanal, making them among the most notable immovable assets in his portfolio. Beyond the hills, properties in Chennai's Neelankarai, Saligramam and Korattur, plus land parcels in Coimbatore and Villupuram complete a real estate portfolio that signals three decades of deliberate, diversified investment.
The Luxury Fleet — And a ₹67,000 Moped
Among the cars he owned are high-end brands like BMW 530, Toyota Lexus, Toyota Vellfire and BMW i7, besides a Suzuki Swift and a TVS XL motorcycle. The BMW i7, Toyota Lexus 350 and Toyota Vellfire were all added in 2024 alone.
And then there is the detail that the internet could not stop talking about. Vijay also listed a TVS XL moped, which he bought last year for ₹67,000. A ₹67,000 moped, declared in the same document as ₹624 crore in assets. Whether practical, nostalgic, or simply honest — it is the kind of detail that makes an affidavit human.
Gold, Silver, and Diamonds
Jewellery disclosures include 883 grams of gold (₹1.2 crore+), 3,132 grams of silver, and 134.91 carats of diamonds. Silver articles are separately valued at approximately ₹15 lakh.
Loans: ₹74 Crore Extended
One of the most revealing sections of any politician's affidavit is the loans and advances section — and Vijay's is no exception.
Over ₹74 crore was extended to individuals, trusts, and companies, with major chunks like ₹20 crore each to Kokilambal Education Trust and Green Leaf Infotech, plus loans to family, associates, and business entities.
To family members specifically:
Vijay lent his wife ₹12.6 crore, besides ₹8.78 lakh to his son Jason Sanjay, and ₹4.6 lakh to his daughter Divya Sasha. He also provided ₹3.02 crore to his father S.A. Chandrasekar and ₹8.71 lakh to his mother Shoba Sekar.
To institutions and associates: ₹20 crore to A.L.P. Antonoious Britto and the Kokilambal Educational Trust, ₹5.84 crore to the Vidya Charitable Trust, and ₹3 crore to TVK General Secretary N. Anand.
Zero Liabilities — A Clean Financial Bill of Health
Despite the staggering wealth and outgoing loans, Vijay has declared zero liabilities and that he has no pending dues to banks or financial institutions. In a country where many politicians carry significant bank liabilities, this is a notable declaration.
The Income Picture: ₹184.53 Crore in a Single Year
For the financial year 2024-25, he reported a total income of ₹184.53 crore in his income tax returns. His income sources are listed as self-employment, interest income, and rental income — the fruits of a three-decade career at the very top of Tamil cinema.
His declared occupation in the affidavit? Simply: "Self-Employed."
The Spouse's Assets: A Marriage in Legal Limbo
The affidavit also sheds light on Vijay's personal life. The candidate's spouse Sangeetha has declared separate assets totalling ₹15.76 crore, including movable property worth ₹15.51 crore and immovable property valued at ₹25 lakh.
The two are estranged. Sangeetha Sornalingam has filed a divorce petition, and their assets are listed independently. Vijay declared that he has separately lent her ₹12.60 crore — a loan, not a gift — a distinction that speaks to the legal complexity of their situation.
The Income Tax Shadow: Disputes From the Puli Era
No affidavit is without its complications. Vijay's lists four pending income tax demands stemming from a 2015 IT search:
AY 2015-16: ₹1.50 crore penalty under Section 271AAB(1) for alleged concealment linked to film Puli, upheld by Madras High Court in February 2026 on limitation grounds, with liberty to appeal to ITAT. AY 2011-12: ₹91.36 lakh. AY 2015-16 (additional): ₹88.97 lakh. AY 2022-23: ₹14.13 lakh (under appeal). These stem from a 2015 IT search where Vijay filed revised returns and paid taxes, but penalties persisted.
The total disputed amount across all four cases is approximately ₹3.45 crore — a fraction of his declared wealth, but a legal thread that remains unresolved.
Zero Criminal Cases: The Clean Record
In a political landscape where criminal cases against candidates are depressingly common, Vijay declared that there were no criminal cases pending against him and that he had no tax dues. No FIRs. No convictions. No charges. It is a clean record that his campaign is already leaning on heavily.
The Man Behind the Numbers: Education and Identity
The affidavit also strips away the superstar and reveals the man.
Educationally, he completed 10th (1989) and 12th (1991) via private study, and dropped out of a B.Sc Visual Communication course from Chennai's Loyola College (1992). The dropout detail is significant — Vijay began acting in films as a teenager, and his education was always secondary to his career on screen.
He signs the document not as "Thalapathy" or "Vijay" — the names that fill cinema hoardings across Tamil Nadu — but as C. Joseph Vijay. It is a reminder that behind the persona is a person, filing paperwork like any other citizen asking for the public's vote.
The Battleground: Why Perambur?
Vijay's choice of constituency is as strategic as it is symbolic.
Traditionally regarded as a stronghold of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Perambur has consistently favoured the Dravidian party, which has secured victory here nine times. Perambur is a high-profile constituency with over 2.20 lakh voters, one of the largest assembly segments in Chennai following the 2011 delimitation. The constituency has a socially diverse electorate, including a sizable Dalit population and also a notable Anglo-Indian population.
Political observers note that Vijay's entry into the fray has dramatically altered the electoral equations. Banking on his popularity, particularly among young voters, the TVK is attempting to make inroads into a constituency long held by established Dravidian forces.
He is also contesting Trichy East. Trichy East is a politically significant and semi-urban constituency with over 2 lakh voters. The seat is currently represented by DMK's Inigo S. Irudayaraj, who won convincingly in 2021 with a margin of over 53,000 votes.
By choosing two DMK-held seats, Vijay has clearly positioned his campaign as a direct challenge to the ruling party. It is a high-risk, high-reward strategy — one that avoids safer options in favour of making a statement.
India's Richest Actor-Politician: A Record That Stands
The numbers place Vijay in a category of his own. He is, by declared assets, the wealthiest film-actor-turned-politician to have ever contested an election in India. His nearest comparable rival from the film world — Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna of Andhra Pradesh — has declared assets of approximately ₹483 crore. Vijay surpasses that by over ₹140 crore.
And yet, on the day he filed his nomination, he told his supporters: "I left all my luxuries to serve the people of Tamil Nadu."
The affidavit tells a more complex story. The luxury cars are there. The ₹213 crore in one bank is there. The Kodaikanal estates are there. But so is the ₹67,000 moped. So is the zero criminal record. So is the zero bank liability.
What voters make of that complexity — that is what April 23 is for.
Key Numbers At A Glance
| Category | Amount | |---|---| | Total Declared Assets | ₹624.74 crore | | Movable Assets | ₹404.58 crore | | Immovable Assets (Market Value) | ₹220.15 crore | | Bank Deposits (All Accounts) | ₹323 crore+ | | Indian Overseas Bank Alone | ₹213 crore+ | | Cash in Hand | ₹2 lakh | | Loans & Advances Given | ₹74 crore+ | | FY 2024-25 Income (IT Return) | ₹184.53 crore | | Spouse's Total Assets | ₹15.76 crore | | Bank Liabilities | ₹0 | | Criminal Cases | 0 | | Pending IT Disputes | ₹3.45 crore (total) | | Vehicles | 6 (incl. BMW i7, TVS XL moped) | | Gold | 883 grams (₹1.2 crore+) | | Diamonds | 134.91 carats |
The Bottom Line
An election affidavit is a legal document. It is dry, number-heavy, and designed for bureaucrats. But Vijay's Form 26 reads like the financial biography of a man who built an empire from scratch, diversified it shrewdly, kept it clean of debt, and is now betting it all on a different kind of screen — the ballot.
Whether the voters of Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East respond to that bet is the question Tamil Nadu will answer on May 4, 2026, when the votes are counted.
One thing is certain: no Indian actor has ever entered electoral politics carrying this much — in wealth, in scrutiny, and in expectation.
All data sourced from the election affidavit filed by C. Joseph Vijay with the Election Commission of India on March 30, 2026, as reported by PTI, The Federal, Deccan Chronicle, The Week, The South First, and OneIndia.
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