Actor-turned-politician Vijay has made a significant political move by garlanding Periyar’s statue in Chennai to mark the Dravidian idealogue’s birth anniversary.
Periyar has been an unshakable Dravidian icon promoted by Tamil Nadu’s leading parties DMK and ADMK to symbolise commitment to equality, secularism and social justice, and, more importantly, as a political signalling against the BJP and other Sangh Parivar outfits.
Vijay’s political party announcement (Thamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam) and flag-unveiling ceremony triggered a political reading that he had steered clear of any Dravidian affiliation.
However, with the garlanding move on Wednesday, he has kicked off a clever political manoeuvre that widens his field of play: while not antagonising the Periyarist/Dravidian roots in Tamil Nadu, he has clearly said he would not get sucked into the Aryan/Dravidian ideological battle, which DMK undoubtedly owns.
This positioning places Vijay at an advantage as he can speak to the large — urban and rural — working classes and upwardly mobile social classes that he will work for them, without having to affiliate to either of the political dugouts — Dravidian or otherwise.
It is also expected that he will disclose Tamil nationalist leanings, something Naam Tamilar Katchi Seeman has said they will welcome.
“Vijay has made it clear that he will be a tough competitor to the DMK,” a source close to the actor told News18.
This is not the first time that the actor has showed affiliation towards Periyar. Vijay identified three political idols — BR Ambedkar, Periyar EV Ramasamy, and Congress leader K Kamaraj — while felicitating Class 10 and Class 12 toppers in March last year in a clear indication of where his ideologies lie.
The actor also joined the bandwagon of parties opposing NEET. Taking a jibe at the BJP government, he urged the Centre to scrap the medical entrance test, calling it “anti-poor”.
Vijay and his team are preparing for the party’s state conference scheduled for October. The actor, in a statement on September 8, said Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam has been officially registered by the Election Commission of India. Calling this registration the “first step towards victory”, Vijay urged his party cadre to wait for an official announcement of the date of the state conference, adding that preparations are underway.
The state conference will reveal TVK’s ideologies and the party’s vision for the 2026 state assembly polls. So far, the state has seen a bipolar contest. With Vijay ticking the right boxes until now, it remains to be seen if the political landscape may well change in Tamil Nadu.
As Vijay further unravels his political pack of cards, it would be interesting to see how the Dravidian majors and caste-based political outfits align to the newcomer.
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