Tamil Nadu, a state where politics and the film world have been inseparable for decades, could soon witness another actor take the much-awaited political plunge.
49-year-old Vijay, a popular hero and one of the highest paid actors in the Tamil cinema world, is likely to test political waters when Tamil Nadu goes to Assembly polls in 2026.
Unlike his senior in the tinsel town, Rajinikanth, who dithered for decades together, Vijay is making his ambitions very clear by asking his fan club association, 'Vijay Makkal Iyakkam', to launch evening tuition centres in all 234 Assembly constituencies as part of his outreach.
Vijay’s latest announcement comes weeks after he spent hours together with toppers in plus-two exams from all 234 Assembly segments in the state by honouring them with prizes and asking them to end the trend of voting for political parties in lieu of cash.
Sources in the know told DH that the 'Vijay Makkal Iyakkam' is preparing the groundwork for the actor’s political entry, which is likely to be announced after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“Vijay wants to contest the Assembly elections and his focus will be 2026. He will try to convert the goodwill that his fan clubs have earned to votes for his political party. There is a clear plan on how this should be done,” a source said.
Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) chief Seeman feels Vijay’s political entry could strengthen the alternative political party space in Tamil Nadu and help people make a “careful choice.” “He should come into politics,” Seeman said.
While late matinee idol M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa made it big in politics, later entrants like Vijayakant and Kamal Haasan couldn’t recreate the magic off screen.
Vijay has been carefully planning his political entry for the past few years – he grabbed headlines in the past by making political statements at audio launches of his upcoming films – by allowing his fans to contest civic polls in 2021 and 2022 as independent candidates.
This was seen as a “soft launch” of the actor’s formal launch of the political party, even as his fans continue to indulge themselves in several social activities in the state.
However, Prof. Ramu Manivannan, Visiting Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies University of Denver, US said: “It appears to be a crafted strategy with political mileage rather than social change or educational development. He wants to be in political limelight or as put it plainly, publicity or public relation exercises. His half-well political jumps are known and will be judged only that way,” Manivannan added.
Before the release of his film Beast in 2022, Vijay had said, “It is for my fans to decide.” “In these 30 years, it was the fans who made me thalapathy from an ordinary actor. It is the fans who have to decide, and the situation will also play a role. If you ask me, I would like to be Vijay, but if the fans and situation demand a change, then I have to,” Vijay had said.
Another source added that Vijay is likely to take a break from cinema after his political announcement to demonstrate his “seriousness” in the new assignment he wishes to take up. “He (Vijay) believes this is the right strategy and people will trust him only when he devotes all the time to them. He won’t don two hats and he has indicated that to people with whom he discusses his political plans,” the second source said.
If Vijay does take a break, he will break the long-held tradition of actors continuing to act in films despite being in politics. MGR had to defer his swearing-in by a week to honour his prior commitments, while Kamal Haasan continued to act in films, and Rajinikanth did the same before he made a U-turn and bid goodbye to politics.