At the first conference of his newly-formed party on Sunday, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), actor-turned-politician Vijay sought to carve out a space that claims continuity with the Dravidian movement while recognising that the central pole of national politics is now the BJP. In his speech, Vijay invoked Periyar, B R Ambedkar and K Kamaraj, supported the caste census and spoke of expanding the welfare net for women, children and the elderly. In what appeared to be an allusion to the BJP, Vijay spoke against “divisive forces”. At the same time, in a departure from the DMK’s atheist rationalism, he said that “we won’t be taking only one thing that Periyar said — the anti-God position. We have no stake in a politics that denies God”. Vijay also attacked “corrupt family politics” and spoke of the need to evolve newer forms of political communication.
Whether the TVK can cash in on Vijay’s popularity politically — his fan clubs are certainly a launching pad in rural and peri-urban areas — will be known only after the 2026 assembly polls. Actors in Tamil Nadu politics have had a mixed record — from the massive popularity of MGR to the poor performance of Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam. Now, Vijay’s articulation of TVK’s agenda raises both ideological and structural questions about the state’s politics. The AIADMK has been in decline since J Jayalalithaa’s death and the DMK has become, like so many other regional parties, a family firm with M K Stalin succeeding M Karunanidhi and anointing his son Udhayanidhi as his deputy. While the “Dravidian model” of governance has seen successes, its politics has arguably stagnated in terms of leadership and ideology.
