Chennai: Striding up a small ramp toward the stage at Vikravandi in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, on October 27, actor Vijay looked every inch the superstar that he is, waving to cheering supporters as he draped himself in shawls handed to him by the crowd –shawls that doubled as flags of his new party, Thamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
The scene had all the grandeur of a blockbuster introduction, only this time, the hero was not on a film set. It was the inaugural conference of the TVK.
Since announcing the launch of his party in February 2024 and his intention to contest the 2026 assembly elections, Vijay has sparked much speculation and raised many eyebrows. While the actor’s political inclinations have long been evident – he is often delivering powerful dialogues against the ruling class and dancing to songs about a Tamilian rising to power – his actual plans to take the plunge into politics remained uncertain until February. After all, politics is a realm where even Rajinikanth hesitated to tread, and Kamal Haasan is still striving to find his footing.
But Vijay seems determined. His over 45-minute speech at the conference was delivered with a mix of fiery outbursts and heavy sentiment, reflecting the confidence typical of his film persona. He ticked all the right boxes: outlining his enemies, addressing contentious issues that have emerged recently, and claiming that his party was the first to embrace two women leaders as its ideologues – Queen Velu Nachiyar, who fought against the British, and Anjalai Ammal, also a freedom fighter (apart from Periyar, Kamarajar, and Ambedkar), referring to his followers as comrades, and stating that his party was open to alliances. Vijay also advocated for conducting a caste census and giving proportional representation in education and jobs.
Vijay offers tributes to Periyar. Photo: TVK Instagram account.
But as VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan pointed out, he was conspicuously silent on the status of minorities in India. “He does say he’s against polarisation, but what is his stand on the protection of life to minorities?” he asked.
Amid criticisms about his reluctance to identify his political opponents, Vijay outlined who they were: the BJP would be the ideological opponent for his party, the TVK, while the ruling DMK would be its political adversary. Vijay said that the DMK was corrupt and needed to be challenged as strongly as the BJP has been. His speech focused more on the political opponent, and at one point, he even questioned whether, if the BJP was considered fascist, could the DMK be likened to ‘payasam (sweet porridge)’ – a remark that drew significant criticism. Interestingly, Vijay chose not to name either party directly.
“Should we infer that he is against the idea of opposing the BJP or opposing fascism?” asked Thirumavalavan. “To oppose fascism in India, in Tamil Nadu, is to oppose the BJP. Yet, Vijay has made a sarcastic comment about those who stand against fascism.”
While Vijay declared that his party was open to alliances, he also promised a share of power if victorious – an issue that has recently become contentious between the VCK and the DMK, especially after VCK functionary Aadhav Arjuna raised the matter. Observers feel that Vijay perhaps hoped to stir up a hornet’s nest by making the commitment. “He might be trying to woo the alliance partners of the DMK by talking about power-sharing.”
But the idea fell flat, as Thirumavalavan, to whom it may have been directed, dampened the effect with his response.
“He calls it a bombshell in the political arena, but it doesn’t appear to be aimed at the battlefield at the right time or towards the right target,” says Thirumavalavan. “It remains uncertain whether it will have the desired effect. His extreme ambition and historical proposal are to oppose the DMK and weaken its alliance”.
A. S. Panneerselvan, senior journalist and author of Karunanidhi: A Life, notes that Vijay’s speech makes two things clear: that Hindutva politics won’t resonate in Tamil Nadu and that he aims to galvanise anti-DMK votes. “Galvanizing the anti-DMK votes is not a new strategy in Tamil Nadu. Many leaders have attempted it, from Kamarajar and Rajaji to Moopanar, Vaiko, and even Vijayakanth. What we witnessed in Vikravandi is merely a repetition of what Vijayakanth did in Madurai when he launched his party; there is no real difference between the two,” Panneerselvan said.
MGR campaigns. Photo: File.
Panneerselvan explains the historical difficulty of galvanising anti-DMK votes as stemming from a lack of public support to ‘cross the threshold.’ “You need to surpass a vote share of 25-26% for it to become significant. But that hasn’t happened yet. If the anti-DMK votes are split among three different groups, it will only benefit the DMK,” he added.
In his speech, Vijay also referenced M.G. Ramachandran, the famed former chief minister and founder of the AIADMK. “Like him, people also call me a Koothadi,” he remarked, referring to the term often considered disrespectful towards actors. MGR was perhaps the only actor to successfully transition from cinema to politics – an example many aspiring politicians among actors hope to emulate, often without success. “Even Jayalalithaa sustained her political career by leveraging MGR’s mass appeal,” notes A. Ramasamy, a political analyst and educationist.
“I have quit my film career while still at the peak,” Vijay commented, adding that he was doing so out of trust in the people.
Unlike MGR, who used his films to cultivate a do-gooder image that bolstered his political career, observers point out that Vijay’s films have been somewhat disconnected from the people of Tamil Nadu. “The directors were focused on profit and heroes like Vijay simply catered to this,” Ramasamy adds.
Panneerselvan also emphasises that MGR was in a league of his own compared to other actors. ‘When he left the DMK, he was already the party’s number three, with ten years of legislative experience and serving as the treasurer. There’s a significant difference between MGR departing to form his own party and other actors attempting to do the same. Even Vijayakanth had a seasoned politician like Panruti Ramachandran by his side. But who does Vijay have in his party?”
Also unlike leaders like Karunanidhi or MGR, who had a trusted circle of accomplices, Vijay appears to be taking centre stage entirely on his own. “A party or a movement can have one leader, but leadership is something different,” Panneerselvan adds. “If you believe both are the same, that is essentially fascism.”
The poster of ‘Sarkar’.
Ramasamy concurs: “Much has been speculated about Vijay’s support system. However, after the conference, it’s clear that he seems to believe only in himself. In fact, his speech, in my opinion, is an expanded version of the dialogues he delivered in his film Sarkar.” The 2018 film portrays Vijay as a ruthless corporate raider who transitions into a politician after being shocked by the corrupt system. While his party wins the election, the hero steps aside to allow an honest IAS officer to assume the role of chief minister.
Ramasamy also notes that there has always been a central party supporting the launch of new political outfits in Tamil Nadu. “Indira Gandhi was behind MGR, and Moopanar backed Vijayakanth. There could very well be someone behind Vijay as well.”
After all, the BJP is still struggling to make inroads in the state and is desperate for a breakthrough. While Vijay did mention the BJP as his party’s ideological opponent, the fact that he wasn’t as vocal against the BJP as he was against the DMK leaves room for speculation.
Meanwhile, the law minister of Tamil Nadu, S. Reghupathy, labelled Vijay’s TVK as the “C-team of the BJP,” adding that the party’s action plan is a “copycat of the DMK’s plans.”
With Vijay appearing determined to challenge the DMK in the 2026 assembly election, the stage may well set up a contest between him and DMK’s Udayanidhi Stalin. Panneerselvan notes that all three – Vijay, Udayanidhi Stalin, and BJP’s state president K. Annamalai – belong to the same age group. “This could mean the possibility that the DMK might find it difficult to reap the demographic dividends, but it could more importantly signal a crisis for the AIADMK. In fact, TVK could act as a spoiler for the AIADMK. The question is, how will the AIADMK manage that?”
Vijay perhaps hopes to replicate the theme of his film Sarkar and achieve similar success in his political career, but Tamil Nadu’s political landscape has never been simple.
