Stampede at actor’s political rally kills at least 36 people in India

By PRAGATI K.B.

Dozens of people died and more than 40 suffered injuries on Saturday in a stampede at a political rally in southern India, when thousands rushed toward the stage where a popular actor and politician was speaking, officials said.

At least 36 people were killed, and 45 were admitted to hospitals in Karur, the city in the southern state of Tamil Nadu where the episode took place, the state’s chief minister, M.K. Stalin, said on social media. He said the dead included eight children, and the state’s health minister, Ma Subramanian, told local news outlets that the overall toll was likely to rise.

Actor and politician Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, known professionally as Vijay, had been speaking on a makeshift stage, erected on top of a bus, when the stampede began.

Chandrasekhar, 51, is one of Tamil Nadu’s most successful actors, starring in many of the film industry’s biggest commercial hits. In 2024, he quit his acting career to enter politics, starting his own political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.

Video of the rally posted on social media showed the actor pausing his speech when he saw ambulances struggling to make their way through the crowd, and asking fans to make way for them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India expressed his condolences to the victims’ families, writing on the social platform X that the incident was “deeply saddening.” Stalin issued a statement on the site urging the public to cooperate with doctors and police.

Chandrasekhar also posted a statement saying, “My heart is shattered. The sorrow I am feeling is indescribable.”

He offered his condolences and added that he hoped for the quick recovery of the injured.