In first visit to Karur after stampede, Vijay looks to balance rehabilitation, development

Nine months after the tragedy, he will return to the district to hand over government appointment orders to eligible members of the victims’ families and launch a major industrial project. Vijay will distribute appointment orders to one eligible member from each of the 41 bereaved families there. Following eligibility verification, 32 appointments have been cleared. The TVK-led government has said it will continue to support the affected families.

The official programme is scheduled to begin at the District Collectorate, where Vijay will meet the victims’ families before handing over appointments made on compassionate grounds. He will later lay the foundation stone for a Rs 1,700-crore footwear manufacturing project in Karur, expected to generate around 13,500 jobs, before addressing a public meeting.

The CM’s visit seeks to combine the stampede victims’ rehabilitation measures with a major development initiative. Karur also holds political significance for Vijay.

The stampede occurred on September 27, 2025, during his election campaign at Velusamypuram, where a large crowd had gathered for his rally. Forty-one people died and more than 100 were injured. The incident, now under investigation by the CBI, became one of the defining events of the campaign

for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

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— TVK Vijay (@TVKVijayHQ) September 30, 2025

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The tragedy, however, did not significantly alter the electoral outcome. Much of the public debate that followed focused on crowd management and administrative preparedness rather than on Vijay personally. The incident also renewed scrutiny of how political rallies in Tamil Nadu are organised, involving coordination between organisers, police, local administration and party workers.

One criticism, however, persisted. Rather than visiting Karur immediately after the stampede, Vijay met the bereaved families at a hotel in Chennai, prompting criticism from political rivals and sections of the public, who argued that he should have travelled to the district to express his condolences.

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Vijay’s Friday visit therefore carries a significance beyond the official programme. Over the past several days, officials have contacted the victims’ families, collected documents and processed appointment orders. Transport has also been arranged for the victims’ relatives attending the event.

‘Learning from past’

The CM’s visit will take place under extensive security arrangements. Authorities have capped attendance at the public meeting at around 5,000 people, with entry regulated through QR code-based passes. More than 5,000 police personnel from Karur and neighbouring districts have been deployed. Officials have also reviewed barricading, emergency exits, medical preparedness and traffic management.

BJP state president Nainar Nagendran welcomed the decision to provide government jobs to the victims’ families but questioned the timing of the visit.

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“It is welcoming to see the Chief Minister going to Karur, but it would have been more appreciated had he visited the district immediately after the tragedy to express his condolences,” he said, describing the exercise as “politically motivated”.

The rehabilitation package has also come under judicial scrutiny. A petition before the Madras High Court has sought to restrain the government from issuing the appointments, arguing that such recruitment falls outside established government service rules and should not be treated as compensation following public tragedies.

Political criticism has also come from the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) led by Seeman and the CPI, both of which have questioned the decision to provide government jobs to the victims’ families. The government, however, has proceeded with the programme.

Alongside the rehabilitation measures, the government is also expected to use the visit to highlight its focus on investment and employment through the proposed footwear manufacturing project.

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The visit also comes against the backdrop of a vacancy in the Karur Assembly constituency after former AIADMK minister M R Vijayabhaskar resigned as MLA and later joined the TVK.

Political observers say the CM’s visit is likely to be viewed in the context of the forthcoming by-election, even though the official programme is administrative in nature.

For Vijay, the visit also marks his first visit to Karur as the CM, putting both the government’s rehabilitation measures and its political messaging under close scrutiny.