1 week Ago
When nearly 10 lakh supporters converged on actor Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar's first big political roadshow last month, many called it a show of strength like no other. At the event, the actor, slated to make his debut in Tamil Nadu's 2026 assembly elections, took on the ruling DMK in the state and the BJP at the Centre, raking up issues like corruption, political dynasties, communal politics and central interference in state affairs. However, despite the actor looking to make a big-bang political debut in Tamil Nadu's 2026 assembly polls with his party, the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam or TVK, the ruling DMK does not seem flustered.
"We have seen many other parties and are facing elections with our team of parties with us - very strong parties working for the people," said DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan, "The Congress, Communists, and the DMK have been on the field since democracy started in India." For those outside South India, 50-year-old Vijay may not be a familiar name. The actor has starred in 68 Tamil films across four decades, debuting as a child actor in 1984.
His top titles include hits like Pokkiri, Ghilli, Theri, Masteri, Sarkar and Leo. He says his political ideology will be a mix of social justice and secularism, aiming to promote the use of Tamil language in executive and judicial matters within the state. However, the actor invited criticism when he called for the scrapping of Chennai's long-awaited second airport, and across-the-board absorption of contract workers at the Tamil Nadu arm of Central PSU, NLC India.
"He should tread the middle ground - he should say 'yes, we cannot destroy the environment for the sake of projects', but at the same time development needs infrastructure," said political commentator Sumanth Raman, "(Saying yes to) infrastructure means that there will have to be some methodology built for a fair and just method of land acquisition." Interestingly, the BJP has stopped short of engaging in all-out attacks against the actor, with a senior leader like Tamilisai Soundararajan even suggesting that an alliance against the DMK would be the best idea for common foes of the Dravidian giant. The party's leadership in Tamil Nadu has also said it isn't ready to plunge into a political war with the actor, yet.
"He is being influenced by people, but he should now go and take better advice from better people," said Narayanan Thirupathy, Vice President of the state BJP. "We don't want to jump in and fight with him, because he is new. We need to give him some time," he added.
At first glance, it may seem like Vijay - known to be soft-spoken off-camera - is keen to make a strong political statement and give voters in Tamil Nadu a third option in place of the BJP and its election-season allies. How he goes about doing it, and which way the battle lines end up being drawn, only time will tell..
