India, May 4 -- Actor-turned-politician Vijay has pulled off a stunning electoral debut, with his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerging as a front-runner to form the government in Tamil Nadu, drawing comparisons to rare political "startups" that achieved instant success.

TVK's rapid rise places it alongside a select group of parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), all of which formed governments soon after their electoral debut. While AAP formed a government in Delhi in 2013 with outside support, AGP came to power in Assam in 1985, and TDP swept Andhra Pradesh in 1983 under the leadership of N. T. Rama Rao.

According to early Election Commission trends, TVK was leading i...