Vijayakanth knocks on Karat door, Left eyes star in south

Vijayakanth claims to be the true heir to MGR’s legacy and is called ‘Black MGR’ by his supporters. He made his political ambitions amply clear when he launched the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) in 2005.

Not only did the DMDK bag around 8 per cent of the total vote in the last Assembly elections, it also upset the chances of many candidates of all the major parties.

Admitting to have met Karat, Vijayakanth said he has always played pro-poor characters in films and “was always inspired by the policies of the Left parties”. “I have spoken in favour of Communists in a number of movies,” he added.

The CPI(M) too is happy at the way the meeting went. “We are glad that more people, especially actors with a huge fan following, are getting attracted to Communist ideals,” CPI(M) Politburo member S R Pillai told The Indian Express.

While the party has always had good equations with “serious movie persons” like Shabana Azmi, he added, “having matinee idols is a welcome change”.

Though the CPI(M) itself played down the political significance of the meeting between Karat and Vijayakanth, Pillai admitted that Tamil Nadu held an important place in the expansion plans of the party.

Earlier, Chiranjeevi, who is planning a foray into politics, had sent feelers to the CPI(M) and CPI leadership on an alliance in the coming Assembly elections.

However, regarding Chiranjeevi, the party is adopting a cautious approach. “We will take a decision only after knowing more about his party,” Pillai said.

Another reason for the Left’s reluctance could be the embarrassment it faced recently when Mammootty — who is the chairman of the CPI(M)-backed channel Kairali TV — attended the book release function of L K Advani in Kerala.