Stampede at political rally for actor Vijay in southern India leaves 40 dead

Vijay rally accident news: According to Subramanian the 36 stampede death toll India before they were taken to hospitals the night before, and four more succumbed to the injuries they sustained later. There were among the victims nine children.

Actor Vijay rally tragedy occurred in Karur district, where tens of thousands had gathered under scorching heat to hear Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar–popularly known as Vijay–one of Tamil Nadu’s most celebrated actors who recently entered politics. Vijay was a retired actor who quit performing in 2024 currently runs his own political partid, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, and is in the process of preparing for the state elections of 2026.

Within Tamil Nadu, film stars are often held to a legendary status, with a number succeeding in their transition to political life. Vijay was the most recent in the long list of film stars to draw huge crowds to public occasions.

Witnesses claim the chaos started following Vijay arrived six hours late than planned. The roads were jammed and the sheer volume that the crowd gathered made getting around difficult.

“There were barricades and ropes set up, but the crowd was too large to control,” recalls S. Sabesan, a local businessman in the field of textiles. He said that a number of people fainted during the Vijay’s talk which forced him to temporarily stop and call ambulances.

Another person who attended lawyer R. Rajendaran, said the situation got worse when Vijay sitting on the front of his vehicle for campaigning was seen throwing water bottles at the crowd. As his car began to leave, crowds poured into the crowd, which led to Vijay political rally stampede.

Minister Subramanian acknowledged that there the was “a lack of discipline” in managing crowds. He also revealed an ex-judiciary would conduct an investigation into the incident. The report is to be released in the coming month.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin expressed his sadness and announced a payout of more than $11,000 to the families of the victims.