At first rally, TVK leader Vijay makes a veiled attack at DMK
Tamil superstar Vijay launched his party, TVK, targeting DMK and BJP, promising change and appealing to young voters ahead of the 2026 elections.
One of India’s most bankable actors and the Tamil cinema superstar, Vijay, on Sunday appealed to a cross section of voters in the southern state at the maiden conference of his fledgling party, Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), where he made clear that his two enemies are the DMK government in Tamil Nadu and the BJP-led government at the Centre.
Vijay, who launched the TVK earlier this year, will debut in the 2026 assembly elections, saying that he is confident of winning with a majority. He has kept the party’s doors open for allies and power sharing.
“2026 will be a new year for politics,” Vijay said to a massive crowd of nearly 200,000 people who gathered in the Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu.
His entry into politics will split the votes of the major Dravidian majors, DMK and AIADMK, and cause a migration, particularly among the young cadres, from all parties in Tamil Nadu, political analysts said after his conference.
“We have two enemies,” Vijay said without taking names of political parties. He referred to the DMK as his political enemy and the BJP as his ideological enemy promising to fight corruption and communalism. “We have come with a puuca (meaning tight in Tamil slang) plan in public interest with a power-packed crowd,” Vijay said. “This is a mass gathering, which has come not for cash, but for a good cause.”
Vijay’s colloquial speech, which was a mix of Tamil peppered with a lot of English, aimed at the first-time and young voters, including women, who also form a major clutch of the 50-year-old actor’s fan base. “I have not come as extra luggage,” Vijay said in response to criticism of his entry in the political arena, assuring people of change.
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“We have to understand the new generation and work accordingly,” he said, adding that like science and technology, politics too should change. He promised to practise political decency and not engage in mudslinging for not naming the DMK and BJP.
TVK’s ideology will be secularism and social justice and the party’s aim is to provide everything for everyone, including education, healthcare, water and opportunities, Vijay said. Speaking from the podium while walking around with a hand-held mic, Vijay took to a paper while reading out the names of Tamil Nadu’s stalwarts, from whom TVK is taking inspiration. He named Dravidian stalwarts EV Ramaswamy (revered as Periyar) and DMK founder CN Annadurai, but said TVK will stay away from the former’s anti-god politics and stick to the latter’s idea that there is only one God. With rationalism and religion being a major issue in Tamil Nadu’s history of politics and the BJP targeting Vijay for being Christian, his take on the matter was watched with interest.
Besides them, BR Ambedkar and former Congress chief minister K Kamarajar are the TVK’s ideological leaders. Vijay said that his party is the first to have women leaders to the list naming freedom fighters Rani Velu Nachiyar and Anjalai Ammal. “We will work for the protection of women, children and senior citizens,” he said.
Vijay also promised to retain Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy of English and Tamil, establish a corruption-free and transparent administration, eradicate untouchability and discrimination based on religion, caste, language, gender identity, and economic status, increase reservation for women from 33% to 50%, back the caste census and abolish NEET and the governor’s post. He blamed the ruling government for not fulfilling such policies.
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“This anti-people government brand themselves as ‘Dravidian model’,” Vijay said. “They always keep talking about fascism…This is a group that wears a mask and cheats people and hides in all sectors. It’s not easy to identify them. And then there is another group that indulges in hate politics. They are more easily identifiable like a rogue elephant.”
Vijay joins a long list of politicians from Tamil cinema who have successfully made the switch to politics (such as late chief ministers MG Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi, J Jayalalithaa). There has also been actor such as late Vijayakanth, who was an opposition leader, who was partially successful in politics, and unsuccessful stars such as Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.
Vijay explained that his intention to enter politics was to give back to people who helped him grow to superstardom. “Till now we met at an audio launch, but now it’s a drastic change on a political stage…I’ve left the peak of my career in cinema believing you all,” Vijay said. “I will maintain politician decency and decorum. I’ve come with a target. There is no looking back.”
In his speech, Vijay appealed to the psychology of the masses which worked but he is unclear on policy and several of his positions is the same as that of the DMK and AIADMK, said political analyst Maalan Narayanan. “Vijay’s game plan is to appeal to first-time voters, youngsters and woo the allies of the DMK and split votes of all the parties,” said Narayanan. “The crowd that gathered for him is largely organic. Usually, we see cadre and supporters being brought in trucks. But we also saw people coming in cars for Vijay’s conference. It shows that he has the support of the middle and upper middle class and he knows how to attract a crowd. There will be a lot of migration of young cadre from the DMK, AIADMK and BJP towards Vijay.”
