Salem: The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has announced that it will hold a tightly controlled election meeting on Friday at Seelanayakkanpatti in Salem, ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The party’s founder and chief, actor-turned-politician Vijay, is scheduled to address a gathering of 4,998 people.

Police guidelines state that the event has been organised strictly as a permitted internal meeting. Entry will be allowed only to those who have been issued passes embedded with QR codes, with no exceptions. District-level administrators have said only authorised participants will be permitted inside the venue.

The meeting will take place at the KVP Garden premises between 12pm and 3pm. The arrangements were inspected on Thursday by TVK general secretary N Anand, election management general secretary Aadhav Arjuna, executive committee chief coordinator KA Sengottaiyan, and other party officials, who spoke to the media after the inspection.

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The party has urged cadres and members of the public who have not received passes not to come to the venue, and instead watch the meeting via live television broadcast. It has appealed for full cooperation with the regulations.

Heavy police security has been deployed in and around the venue to ensure the event proceeds smoothly. Officers are conducting vehicle checks at key entry points, and traffic diversions and temporary road restrictions have been imposed in Seelanayakkanpatti and the KVP Garden area during the event hours. Authorities have advised the public to avoid unnecessary travel through these routes and use alternative roads to reduce congestion.

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The heightened security comes after a tragic stampede in September last year at a TVK gathering to welcome Vijay, in which 41 people died. Authorities say the new measures are aimed at maintaining law and order and ensuring public safety during the high-profile political event.