A day after actor Vijay addressed a massive rally of his newly launched party—Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam—at Vikravandi in Villivakkam district, both the Dravidian majors on Monday sought to downplay his potential influence in the state politics.
Tens of thousands of people flocked to this small town on Sunday as Vijay unveiled his political agenda. TVK claimed that around six lakh people attended the event, sparking debates on whether the actor-politician can unsettle the political equations in Tamil Nadu, largely dominated by the DMK and the AIADMK.
‘DMK has seen many rivals’
The DMK, which Vijay termed in his speech as his electoral enemy, maintained that the TVK had only copied its ideology. DMK leader T.K.S. Elangovan said the party has seen many rivals in its long innings and it will continue to be strong.
Outlining his political agenda, Vijay had said his party would oppose the NEET exam in Tamil Nadu and also dropped hints at its opposition to the office of governor.
"These are all our policies; he is copying... Whatever he says is what we had already said and which we are following,” Elangovan told PTI.
He further noted that several DMK leaders had gone to jail fighting for people’s cause in its 75-year-old history. “The DMK was built thus, fighting for people's issues, whereas Vijay's party aspires to be in power in 2026, immediately after entering politics,” he mocked.
‘Old wine in a new bottle’
The AIADMK congratulated Vijay on his political debut but said the ideology outlined by the TVK is a cocktail ideology.
“TVK's ideology is a mix of ideology of all parties and old wine in a new bottle—a cocktail ideology taken from all political parties in Tamil Nadu,” said AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan.
The opposition party has been facing an existential crisis following the split between Edappadi Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam after the death of party supremo and former chief minister Jayalalithaa.
Rumours have it that many of the disgruntled AIADMK leaders are likely to join Vijay’s party.
BJP hopeful
In his address, Vijay had launched a frontal attack on both the DMK and the BJP, terming the Dravidian party as his electoral enemy and the saffron party as his ideological opponent.
The BJP, however, sees an opportunity in Vijay’s electoral entry, as the party feels that the actor-politician may help in dividing the votes of the Dravidian parties and weakening the DMK.
"I hope Mr Vijay will help me by speaking on Dravidian stock (ideology) and divide those votes," BJP leader H. Raja said.
