For years, the idea of a Prime Minister emerging from Tamil Nadu remained more a political aspiration than a realistic electoral conversation.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder secured 9.2% of the respondents' preference for the next prime minister, placing him behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 48.7% and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at 27.1%.
Vijay's rise in the survey does not stop at the question of who should become the next prime minister.
Speaking in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, he projected Vijay as a future Prime Minister and praised the Chief Minister's work ethic.
"I say this clearly today, a Prime Minister must emerge from the South and the Prime Minister will emerge from the South, maybe not now.
For years, the idea of a Prime Minister emerging from Tamil Nadu remained more a political aspiration than a realistic electoral conversation. Now, barely three months into his tenure as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, C Joseph Vijay has found himself in a space occupied by leaders who have spent decades navigating Indian politics. The actor-turned-politician, who entered politics in 2024, has emerged as the third-most preferred choice for the next Prime Minister of India in the latest India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation (MOTN) poll.
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The finding of the opinion poll is striking not only because of Vijay's position, but because of the speed with which he has entered the national political imagination. The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder secured 9.2% of the respondents' preference for the next prime minister, placing him behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 48.7% and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at 27.1%.
It is interesting to note that the TVK government in Tamil Nadu has the support of the Congress, and Vijay's emergence as a PM choice might have come at the expense of Rahul Gandhi.
Vijay was ahead of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee (2%), Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav (1.7%), Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and convenor Abhijit Dipke (1.3%) and Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal (1.2%).
The Mood of the Nation is a bi-annual survey that's been commissioned by the India Today Group for around two decades now. The August 2026 edition was conducted by CVoter with a sample of 25,184 people directly surveyed between July 1 and August 25. Another set of 91,795 interviews conducted over the last six months as part of CVoter's regular tracking were also used to formulate the findings of the August Mood of the Nation 2026.
Vijay's rise in the survey does not stop at the question of who should become the next prime minister. When respondents were asked which current Opposition leader is best suited to lead the Opposition alliance, Vijay again found himself near the top, securing 12.2% of the vote. He stood just behind Rahul Gandhi, who led with 29%, and ahead of Mamata Banerjee (8.5%), Arvind Kejriwal (7.5%) and Akhilesh Yadav (6.9%).
The findings provide a glimpse into how a politician who is still in the first few months of his first stint in government has quickly expanded his political identity beyond Tamil Nadu.
FROM SILVER SCREEN SUPERSTAR TO POLITICAL CONTENDER
Vijay's political journey has moved at a pace rarely seen in Indian politics.
The superstar formally entered politics with the launch of TVK in 2024. Within two years, the party contested its first election, won power in Tamil Nadu and installed Vijay as Chief Minister in 2026. Now, before his government has even completed its first year, his name is being placed alongside established national leaders in a survey measuring the country's political mood.
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The latest MOTN figures have given an electoral dimension to the conversation that TVK leaders had already begun pushing in recent weeks. TVK ministers have already pitched Vijay as a national political figure and a contender for the prime minister's post in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
The general elections are three years away, and translating popularity into a national electoral coalition is a vastly different challenge. Yet the India Today-Cvoter survey suggests that the idea of Vijay as the contender for PM post in 2029 is no longer confined to Tamil Nadu.
VIJAY FOR PM IN 2029 PITCH BEGAN IN TAMIL NADU
The clamour for a Vijay-led national role became increasingly visible after the TVK minister began openly talking about a Prime Minister from Tamil Nadu.
TVK Minister for Human Resources Management Sarathkumar made the most direct pitch on August 18. Speaking in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, he projected Vijay as a future Prime Minister and praised the Chief Minister's work ethic.
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"Our leader, who is a CM in our hearts, home and St George's Fort, is the next Indian PM. You are the next PM. You work without looking at am or pm, you are definitely the next PM," Sarath said.
This statement carried a larger message and ambition, that of for a party with barely two years of political experience. The ambition that TVK's political horizon might not end with its 2026 victory in Tamil Nadu was made clear by Sarathkumar.
Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister and TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna one day before Sarath had made a broader argument at the India Today Roundtable Tamil Nadu. He said India should eventually have a Prime Minister from the South and argued that such a leader should emerge from Tamil Nadu.
"I say this clearly today, a Prime Minister must emerge from the South and the Prime Minister will emerge from the South, maybe not now. In the future, he will represent every Indian and will treat every Indian equally," Arjuna said.
The two statements, coming within a day of each other, turned what could have been an individual leader's ambition into a more visible political narrative for the party.
The August MOTN survey now reveals that Vijay is being seen as the PM face not only within the TVK, but among the general public, and that he has left behind several established politicians in the popularity race.
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Published By: Avinash Kateel Published On: Aug 27, 2026 19:06 IST
