TVK chief Vijay on Monday filed his nomination from the Perambur constituency in Chennai before appealing to people to vote for the party's whistle symbol on April 23 and give him a shot at forming the government.
Vijay declared assets of ₹520 crore in all—with movable assets being valued at ₹405 crore and immovable assets at ₹115 crore.
After filing his nomination, Vijay, in an address from his open-top campaign vehicle, reiterated the charge that the ruling DMK was an evil force.
"We have to save Tamil Nadu. Who is responsible for this plight? The evil force DMK is the reason for this situation, Stalin sir is the reason," he alleged.
Vijay also told the crowd that he had quit his life of comfort and joined politics to repay his debt of gratitude to them.
"I have endured all the pain and came (joined politics) only for you. I will never lie, never deceive you," he declared.
"Do you want Stalin sir, who runs an anti-people government? Or do you want Vijay, who loves people? Please give an opportunity and vote for the whistle symbol. This should be a whistle revolution election," he stated.
Vijay asked people in Perambur whether they knew how people were living without "basic amenities".
"Is this a country or a jungle. Does a government exist? Does it function?" he wondered.
The two constituencies Vijay is contesting from
The talk of Vijay standing from Perambur had been doing the rounds for a long while even before he confirmed the news on Sunday while releasing his party's list of candidates.
The actor-politician will also be contesting from Tiruchirappalli-East.
"Both constituencies are smaller in size. This would make it easier for him to campaign for his party candidates in other constituencies," a top party leader had told The New Indian Express earlier.
Perambur, an important industrial and residential area in North Chennai, is best known for housing the Integral Coach Factory (ICF).
With close to 3 lakh voters, it has a notable Anglo-Indian community. Dalits make up about 24 percent of its population.
RD Shekar of DMK is the sitting MLA.
Tiruchirappalli-East, the other constituency Vijay will be standing from, was carved out as a constituency only in 2011, has a little over 2.5 lakh voters.
The constituency has an urban voter base.
About 25% of the voters are from the minority communities with Muslims being the second most dominant community with a 15% vote share. It also has around seven percent of Dalit voters.
DMK's Inigo Irudayaraj S is the sitting MLA.