People were seen covering their heads with chairs to protect themselves from excessive heat during the first conference of actor Vijay's party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu's Viluppuram.
Medical teams reached the spot to tend to people who suffered due to excessive heat.
The Sunday rally was the first public meeting by the actor-turned-politician who launched his party in February this year and has spiced up the political battlefield by announcing to contest the 2026 assembly polls.
Apart from excessive heat, other arrangements made ahead of the rally failed to keep up with the ‘unanticipated’ crowd that turned up leading to a commotion. While the organisers claimed that the arrangements were made for around two lakh people, almost half of the venue seating was occupied even by around 6 am, as per a report by the New Indian Express.
As the day passed by, all the five designated parking areas were filled by 11 am, hours before the conference was scheduled to begin.
According to the report, people who participated in the rally — mostly between the age bracket of 19-30 years — complained of insufficient food and water arrangements as some of them felt lightheaded from dehydration and heat.
“They had begun distributing breakfast at only around 10 am although several people had arrived by 6 am and were allowed inside," one of the participants told TNIE.
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"Even after they began distribution, many did not receive breakfast. Now they have made arrangements for snacks and water bottles,” the participant added.
Some people barged into the media gallery in order to have access to food packets and water bottles.