Vijay’s show of strength challenges AIADMK’s space in 2026

CHENNAI: The Madurai conference of actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has all but confirmed a four-cornered contest in the upcoming Assembly polls.

Beyond this, it dashed the AIADMK leadership's hopes of roping in actor Vijay into their alliance to capitalise on his popularity among first-time and young voters during these crucial elections. More significantly, it compelled the principal opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly to reconsider its strategy, as the leader of the two-year-old party positioned himself as the primary challenger to the ruling DMK and made overtures to the AIADMK's traditional vote bank.

Wasting no time, the AIADMK leadership reworks its strategy to nullify Vijay's factor and discredit his claims.

AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, who had earlier advised his party functionaries not to criticise Vijay, responded to the actor's remarks about his leadership during a campaign in Kancheepuram. Although he refrained from naming the TVK leader directly, he did not mince words, stating that newcomers often dream big too soon, which, he asserted, does not translate well in politics.

Following suit, the second-level leaders took a dig at the actor, starting with Minister D Jayakumar.

He dismissed Vijay's attempts to lay claim to the legacy of AIADMK founder MGR, declaring that "no one can take away the party's core vote bank" and affirming that party loyalists would continue to vote for MGR's iconic "two-leaves" symbol.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition RB Udhayakumar described the actor as a "1.5-year-old baby" in politics who considers himself the "saviour of Tamil Nadu", asserting that only the AIADMK has the capacity to take on the DMK, thereby rejecting Vijay's effort to disrupt the decades-old bipolar political landscape dominated by the two Dravidian majors.

Veteran AIADMK members opined that the TVK chief's attempt is not unprecedented, likening it to what the late DMDK leader 'Captain' Vijayakanth attempted two decades ago. He, too, was projected as the "Karuppu MGR" by his supporters, aiming to channel the silver screen appeal and clean image of MGR, but ultimately failed in his political ambitions.

"Even, tall leader like M Karunanidhi made an unsuccessful attempt to usurp our party cadres' support in the name of MGR," said a senior functionary, preferring anonymity.

"It is nothing new for us," said a senior AIADMK leader and former minister, who described Vijay as a "one-time player" who would play a cameo role in the long-standing battle between the AIADMK and the DMK. "Delivering a dialogue from the stage is different from entering the arena of real politics. We have seen many fireflies that attract the attention of the people ahead of the election," he said, noting that these crowd-pullers would disappear in the heat of "real politics", which is unlike the scripted stories meant to entertain their fans.

"When Vijayakanth attempted a similar strategy, the AIADMK had a strong leader, Jayalalithaa, to thwart it. Now, Vijay is doing the same to hijack the legacy of MGR and take away the AIADMK votes, but the party lacks a strong leader. It shows the failure of Palaniswami, who remained silent all these days," said former AIADMK MP KC Palaniswamy. He, however, added that the election outcome would alone determine whether Vijay will succeed in his attempt.

Political analyst Rajan Kurai Krishnan, referring to Vijay's speech at the Madurai conference, which he likened to a prepared speech delivered by a school student at an elocution competition, said it clearly revealed that Vijay is "totally unprepared for politics" and lacks depth in political understanding.

"Without knowing MGR, who had remarkable political acumen and shrewdness, which has been recorded by a lot of people who interacted with him, Vijay aspires to replicate him just because he has a fan following," he further said, adding that Vijay's appeal to AIADMK cadres and sympathisers is unlikely to yield the desired outcome.