Man Dies of Heart Attack During TVK Chief Vijay’s Election Event

MAN DIES OF SUSPECTED HEART ATTACK AT VIJAY’S SALEM POLL MEET.

A political rally meant to energize cadres ahead of the 2026 Assembly battle turned tragic in Salem, Tamil Nadu, after a 37-year-old man collapsed and died of a suspected heart attack during a meeting organized by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The February 13 event was part of party chief Vijay’s statewide campaign tour as he gears up for his first full-scale electoral showdown.

The deceased, Suraj, originally from Maharashtra, had been living in the Seelanaickkanpatty area of Salem for nearly 20 years. A silver-ring maker and construction laborer by profession, he had attended the administrators’ meeting as a spectator. Witnesses said he had been lying on the ground for some time before suddenly fainting. Panic briefly rippled through the gathering as volunteers rushed to assist him.

He was immediately transported by ambulance to a nearby private hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Preliminary inputs from police indicated that Suraj had been battling health issues for nearly a year and had previously undergone heart surgery. Early assessments suggest cardiac arrest as the likely cause of death.

The incident unfolded despite unusually tight safety measures at the venue. After the devastating Karur stampede in September 2025 that claimed 41 lives, authorities and TVK organizers imposed strict regulations for the Salem event. Attendance was capped at 4,998 people. Entry was restricted to those carrying QR code-embedded passes with verified IDs. Heavy police deployment, vehicle screening, and layered security checks were enforced across Seelanaickkanpatty to prevent overcrowding or disorder.

Even as tragedy struck, the political temperature remained high. During his address, Vijay took aim at the ruling government, mocking the “Standard Operating Procedure” (SOP) imposed on his rallies. In a sharp jibe, he remarked that for him, SOP seemed to mean “Stalin-Sir Operating Procedure,” alleging selective restrictions on his party while others were given freer rein. He also called on supporters to reject vote-buying practices and rally behind TVK’s “Whistle” symbol in the upcoming elections.

The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly elections are scheduled for the first half of 2026, and the Salem meeting was among the final organizational gatherings before TVK’s aggressive statewide campaign rollout. What was meant to showcase discipline and strength instead ended under the shadow of an unexpected death—adding a somber note to an already charged political season.