Watch: 'Hologram Vijay' comes to TVK chief's aid for campaigning
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Chennai (PTI): In a move that has redefined the landscape of political campaigning in Tamil Nadu, TVK candidate for Kumbakonam, Vinoth Ravi, has deployed a 3D hologram of actor-turned-politician Vijay to reach voters across the state for the April 23 Assembly elections.
The technology made its debut in the Kumbakonam Assembly constituency on April 12.
A life-sized, high-definition digital projection of TVK chief appeared alongside the party’s local candidate. Visuals from the ground showed the "Hologram Vijay" delivering a synchronised speech from a campaign vehicle, creating an illusion of physical presence that drew crowds.
Vijay Chandran, TVK's Thanjavur district treasurer, said they decided to do this when an acquaintance of his was telling him about the possibility of 3D hologram.
According to Chandran, the move is a strategic response to the gruelling schedule of covering 200-plus constituencies that TVK is competing from.
"We realised that it is not possible for our Thalaivar (TVK chief Vijay) to go to all the constituencies. We were thinking about how best we can bring to people about his message. I remembered Praveen K, a third-year student of AI and Data Science, who was telling me about hologram marketing. The hologram initiative allows our leader to be omnipresent, ensuring that voters in every corner of the state can experience his address directly, even as he physically attends high-stakes rallies elsewhere," Chandran told PTI.
TVK candidate in Kumbakonam uses a full hologram of Vijay…. pic.twitter.com/eWooTr2EKk
— Vasudha Venugopal (@Vasudha156) April 13, 2026
Praveen, all of 20, said he runs a part-time marketing agency and had developed a demo product for hologram marketing.
"We created about a 50-sec AI video of a speech by Vijay, which we then projected as hologram. It took us about three days to get that done," he said, adding that he is getting a lot of requests ever since the video of the hologram campaigning started circulating online.
"Not just TVK, but also AIADMK representatives are asking me to make such videos for them," Praveen said.
A native of Kumbakonam, who will be voting for the first time, but is not sure yet as to who he will vote for, Praveen said, given the market situation right now, it will cost anywhere between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for hologram campaign.
Political analysts view this "AI-first" approach as a deliberate attempt to capture the youth vote and distinguish TVK from the traditional roadshow-heavy strategies of the DMK and AIADMK.
Meanwhile, the "real" Vijay continues his sporadic physical campaigns. He was last seen on April 12 in Kanyakumari district, seeking support for six candidates.
The Election Commission had granted a focused six-hour window, from 2 pm to 8 pm. Before Kanyakumari, he had gone to Karaikudi on April 10, but returned without making a speech due to lack of time.
Typically, in a day, politicians go to anywhere between four and five constituencies to campaign for candidates, mostly via road. However, Vijay usually flies from Chennai to the nearest airport where the campaign meeting is scheduled. He then does a road show to the venue.
The hologram campaign follows a series of experimental attempts by local cadres to maintain the leader's presence. Earlier, in Thiruverumbur, candidate Navalpattu Viji resorted to using a Vijay mannequin to bridge the physical gap. Sometime ago, an unverified picture was circulated in various social media platforms in which 100s of such mannequins were standing inside the TVK office in Pannaiyur, Chennai.
It is also widely reported that Vijay lookalikes are now being sought after to stand in for TVK chief. One such campaign that went viral is that of Kolathur TVK candidate V S Babu, who will be taking on Chief Minister M K Stalin, among others.
Tamil Nadu will see polling in all its 234 constituencies on April 23.
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Trump arrives in China for talks with Xi
Beijing (PTI): US President Donald Trump arrived in China on Wednesday for a three-day state visit during which he will discuss a host of global issues, including the Iran war, with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump, who is visiting China at the invitation of President Xi, was received by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng at the airport.
The leaders of the world's two largest economies will hold their seventh face-to-face talks. They last met face-to-face in October 2025 in Busan, South Korea.
The US President arrived in China on his second visit in nine years to clinch a trade deal, to end the frictions over tariffs that affected its over USD 525 billion exports to the US.
Trump, who is accompanied by top CEOs, was the last US president to visit China in 2017, during his first term.
President Trump would have a bilateral meeting with Xi on Thursday, US Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said on Sunday.
The two leaders will meet again on Friday for a bilateral tea and working lunch, she said, adding that the US plans to host the Chinese leader for a reciprocal visit later this year.
Ahead of Trump's arrival, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and Scott Bessent completed the final round of trade negotiations in South Korea, details of which are not known.
The talks focused on trade and tariffs, Artificial Intelligence and technology, Taiwan and US' arms sales to Taipei, Iran and West Asia security and rare earths and supply chains.
Trump's schedule included a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of imperial temples where emperors would pray for a good harvest.
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Ahead of his departure for Beijing, Trump told the media in Washington he would be talking with Xi about trade more than anything else.
He plans to sign more deals with China to buy more American food and aircraft. The two countries also plan to set up a Board of Trade with China to address differences between the countries.
From a trade point of view, China looks to reap a rich harvest as Trump is accompanied by top CEOs of US multinational giants, including Tesla chief Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook, who have well-entrenched business in China.
Apple has regained the top spot in China's competitive smartphone market as of early 2026, driven by a 28 per cent surge in iPhone shipments.
In April, Tesla's China-made vehicle sales (including exports) reached 79,478, a 36 per cent year-over-year increase, signalling a production rebound.
The top US business leaders will be allowed to mingle with their Chinese counterparts at an exclusive international business club, according to Chinese officials.
The global focus on the summit, however, would be on any possible outcome that could end the US-Israeli-Iran war and end the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Ahead of Trump's visit, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made his first visit to Beijing after the war and held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
The US watched his visit closely as China is the largest importer of Iranian oil and shares strategic defence ties with Tehran, and has considerable influence over Iran.
After talks with Araghchi, Wang called on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, even as it appreciated Tehran's commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, a prime demand of Trump to end the war.
Commenting on Wang-Araghchi talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told. And that is what you are doing in the Strait, which is causing you to be globally isolated. You're the bad guy in this."
China's anxieties over the Gulf war increased, especially after Trump imposed a blockade of Iranian ports, restricting Iran's oil exports to China.
Bert Hoffman, former World Bank country director for China, said China wants the Iran war to end because it has many partners in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. "So they don't like to see wars, they like to have stability," he said.
In its editorial on Trump's visit, state-run Global Times said Xi has held multiple telephone conversations and meetings with him, which have helped correct the course of the bilateral relationship and steer it clear of hidden dangers at critical moments.
For China-US relations to truly stabilise and improve in the future, the most fundamental step is to fully and faithfully implement the important consensus reached by both leaders, it said.
From China's point of view, the Taiwan issue was expected to figure prominently in the talks.
Last week, China's Foreign Minister Wang told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during their telephone talks, that the US should make the right choice about the self-ruled Taiwan.
China claims Taiwan as part of its own and has been ramping up military pressure on the island with periodic military drills around the island.
VIDEO | Beijing: US President Donald Trump arrives in China for high stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 13, 2026
(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/ceEJGDipbm
