The Madras High Court (HC) on Friday took exception to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) conduct of using children in social media reels and election campaigns to seek votes for the party during the state assembly polls 2026, calling the practice ‘being in bad taste’ and reflecting poor parenting. However, it held that using family relationships to influence voters’ behaviour choices does not automatically constitute undue influence under election law.
Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy of the HC made the ruling while allowing an application filed by TVK MLA K Sivakumar, who sought to dismiss an election petition challenging his victory from the Salem North Assembly Constituency in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
It had been alleged in the petition that kids had been used to campaign for Sivakumar, including through social media content designed to persuade family members to vote for the party.
A still from TVK's election campaign
Vijay’s appeal to children sparks row
The controversy originated from a speech delivered by Vijay at the YMCA Ground in Chennai’s Nandanam locality on April 21 this year. As per the petition, the actor-politician had urged kids to persuade their parents and kin to vote for TVK and its Whistle symbol.
Drawing a comparison with kids repeatedly asking their parents for chocolates such as Kinder Joy, Vijay encouraged them to similarly persist in demanding votes for his party, asking them to do so for ‘Vijay Mama’, or Vijay Uncle.
The petition further alleged that several social media reels subsequently featured kids mounting pressure on their parents and grandparents to support TVK, Some videos allegedly showed a minor threatening to throw cow dung at a parent unless they voted for the party, while another depicted a young woman threatening to lace her father’s food with poison.
In other clips, the children were seen threatening suicide, damaging phones and spectacles, or physically assaulting and shouting at family members over their political preference. Some videos also featured elderly people claiming that they had voted for TVK because of pressure from their children.
The petition went on to allege that Vijay had thanked children for campaigning for him and his party following the electoral victory.
TN CM Vijay
Court questions role of adults in reels
The HC noted that young children were unlikely to have independently created and circulated such videos. The judgment delivered by the HC read, “Adults have shown these children the appeal of the leader, made them perform the acts, made reels, and popularised them.” Justice Chakravarthy disapproved of adults involving kids in such activities, terming the practice ‘cheap and politically motivated.’
The judge further remarked that allowing young children to perform such acts reflected poor parenting.
Parliament asked to debate electoral implications
The HC asserted that Parliament should consider whether using kids to influence voting decisions should be prohibited and whether such conduct should constitute grounds for setting aside an election.
Nevertheless, it distinguished objectionable campaigning from legally established undue influence, noting that exploiting family emotions did not automatically override an adult voter’s free will.
Furthermore, the court observed that violations of Election Commission directions concerning children’s participation in election-related activities did not, by themselves, constitute a ground for invalidating an election under Section 100 of the Representation of the People Act.
It held towards the end of the hearing that Vijay’s appeal as TVK president could not automatically be attributed to the constituency candidate or his election agent as a corrupt electoral practice.
Election petition dismissed
Sivakumar bagged 85,710 votes against the runner-up’s 71,676, claiming victory by a margin of 14,034 votes.
Concluding that the allegations did not establish a legally sustainable basis for overturning the result, the court junked the election petition, while leaving the broader question of children’s involvement in political campaigning open for parliamentary consideration.