Vijay floats political party, to contest 2026 Assembly polls

He also declared that he would be concentrating full-time on public life after completing a film for which he has already given a commitment.

Chennai: Entering the already crowded political space in Tamil Nadu, popular actor Vijay on Friday announced the launch of his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which will contest the 2026 Assembly elections to usher in a “fundamental political change” in the state. 

The 49-year-old actor, who is one of the highest-paid actors in the country and commands a huge fan base, said his party will neither contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections nor extend its support to any outfit.

In a three-page statement, Vijay said he will make use of the next two years to prepare his fans and supporters battle-ready for the 2026 polls, strengthen the party infrastructure, and elect office-bearers in a “democratic manner.”

 “While on one side, we see a brand of politics tainted with corruption and administrative malpractices, on the other side we have a divisive political culture that divides people on caste and religious lines,” Vijay said in the statement

“The truth is everyone in Tamil Nadu is yearning for a fundamental political change and that should be in line with the Indian Constitution and the egalitarian principle of pirapokkum ella uyirkum (all are born equal),” Vijay added.

The announcement by Vijay was not surprising as the actor was preparing for his political outing for the past few months by constituting various wings for his Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, his fan club. The VMI already has 25 wings and all of them were reactivated recently, while the actor also launched an IT wing and advocates wing to face the political challenge. 

Vijay also joins the long list of actors who have joined politics in Tamil Nadu starting from M G Ramachandran to J Jayalalithaa to Sivaji Ganesan to Vijayakanth, and Kamal Haasan. 

While the first two made it big in politics like in the silver screen, the last three couldn’t register much success, though Vijayakanth briefly altered the bipolar politics in the state. Superstar Rajinikanth didn’t enter politics citing his ill-health after promising to launch a party and contest the 2021 elections. 

Vijay’s political plunge is gutsy as no actor could recreate the MGR magic in about four decades in a state where over 75 per cent of the vote share is controlled by DMK and AIADMK, the Dravidian majors who have been ruling the state alternatively since 1967. 

Apart from taking on seniors like Chief Minister M K Stalin and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, Vijay will also fight for space with relatively young leaders such as Udhayanidhi Stalin, and BJP state chief K Annamalai. 

While Udhay wished “good luck” for Vijay in his political entry, Annamalai “wholeheartedly” welcomed the actor and AIADMK leader D Jayakumar said it remains to be seen whether Vijay manages to “swim or drown.”

Prof Ramu Manivannan, who taught history at the University of Madras, told DH that Vijay should be “appreciated” for taking the political plunge as promised instead of playing “hide and seek” game. 

“The timing of Vijay’s announcement is significant. In my view, he is going to play the middle road between the DMK and BJP. He will eat into a small portion of the DMK’s vote, and I am sure he will be tested for his guts. Let him see where he stands,” Manivannan added. 

Vijay, who had in the past grabbed headlines by making political statements at audio launches of his upcoming films, also allowed his fans to contest civic polls in 2021 and 2022 as independent candidates by using the VMI flag. 

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.