Vijay’s TVK gets whistle symbol for 2026 Tamil Nadu polls; Kamal Haasan’s MNM gets torchlight

CHENNAI: Actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has been allotted the whistle symbol for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, days after it submitted an application to the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi listing ten preferred symbols for its candidates.

Of these, seven were from the list of free symbols available for newly registered parties and three were self-created symbols. The party’s list included whistle, auto and mike, with TVK leaders indicating the whistle was their top choice.




Kamal Haasan’s MNM has got the torchlight symbol, the same one allotted in 2021, while PMK’s mango symbol remains pending as both father and son factions claim it.



Party leaders said the whistle is closely linked to Vijay’s 2019 film Bigil and could work as a campaign tool, as it is easy to carry and distribute among cadres during rallies.

The TVK application was filed by the party’s joint general secretary, C T R Nirmal Kumar, under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The order allows unrecognised political parties to apply for a common symbol six months before the expiry of an Assembly’s term.

The ECI had opened the window for applications from November 11.