The Madras High Court has strongly criticised the use of children in election campaigns and social media reels seeking votes for TVK chief Joseph Vijay and his party, TVK, in the run-up to the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. The court described the practice as being in bad taste, reflecting poor parenting, and being politically motivated.
However, the court held that exploiting familial relationships to influence voting choices does not automatically amount to undue influence under existing election laws. The petition further pointed out that Vijay had specifically thanked children for campaigning for him and his party following his electoral victory. READ | Can Vijay-Chandrababu Naidu Talks End Tamil Nadu’s Water Woes? MGR-NTR Pact Offers Clues Court Blames Adults Behind Reels In a significant observation, the court noted that young children featured in these videos could not have independently produced and circulated such social media content. The court strongly disapproved of the conduct of adults who encouraged such activities. Parliament Must Consider Larger Question The judgment raised the larger question of whether children should be used to influence voting decisions and whether such practices should attract electoral consequences. However, the court drew a distinction between influencing a voter’s preference and legally established undue influence. It held that even assuming the allegations in the petition were true, exploiting familial emotions to sway electoral choices could not automatically be treated as overpowering an adult’s free will. The judge further observed that even if adults used their children’s pestering as an excuse to justify a particular voting choice, that remained their own decision. Why Election Petition Was Rejected The election petition had also alleged that children were used in campaign rallies for the victorious TVK candidate, violating Election Commission directions prohibiting their involvement in election-related activities. It also held that Vijay’s appeal, made in his capacity as party president, could not automatically be attributed to the constituency candidate or his election agent as a corrupt practice under the relevant statutory provisions. Concluding that the allegations did not disclose a legally sustainable cause of action for setting aside the election, the court rejected the election petition.
Because of their children’s tantrums, videos were also submitted showing elders claiming they had voted for the Whistle symbol. Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy made the observations while allowing an application by TVK MLA K Sivakumar seeking rejection of an election petition challenging his victory from the Salem North Assembly constituency in the 2026 elections, citing that children were used for campaigning on his behalf. Vijay’s Direct Appeal To Children The controversy stemmed from a speech delivered by TVK chief Vijay at the YMCA Grounds in Chennai’s Nandanam on April 21, ahead of the Assembly elections. The court noted that while the Election Commission’s circular had statutory character, its violation was not, by itself, an enumerated ground for invalidating an election under Section 100 of the Representation of the People Act. The order records that the winning candidate secured 85,710 votes against 71,676 votes polled by the runner-up, a victory margin of 14,034 votes.
It said Parliament should debate whether such practices must be prohibited and made grounds for setting aside an election. “Adults have shown these children the appeal of the leader, made them perform the acts, made reels, and popularised them,” the judgment said. “The entire act of involving tender children is in bad taste,” the judge observed, adding that the tasks they were allowed to perform reflected poor parenting. The court described the making of such reels as “cheap and politically motivated”. “This is a larger debate for the nation and Parliament to consider, including whether to prohibit it or make it grounds to set aside the election,” the judge said.
READ | Madras High Court Questions Tamil Nadu’s Refusal Of RSS Route March Drawing an analogy with children persistently demanding chocolates such as Kinder Joy, Vijay urged them to similarly pester their parents to vote for his party, asking them to do it for Vijay Mama (Vijay Uncle). The petition alleged that several social media reels subsequently emerged showing children pressuring their parents and grandparents to vote for TVK. Among the instances cited were a minor boy threatening to fling cow dung at a parent unless the parent voted for TVK, a young woman threatening to poison her father’s food, and a minor child threatening suicide unless the grandparents agreed to vote for the party. Other videos allegedly showed a child hitting and slapping an adult family member, another threatening to break a phone and spectacles, and children shouting at elderly relatives who expressed support for rival political parties.
Vijay directly appealed to children to influence their parents and other family members to vote for TVK and its Whistle symbol, according to the election petition.
