Chennai: It was barely a month after the demise of ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth that Nadigar Sangam, a Chennai-based artistes’ association, organised a memorial for him. The event, which saw many Kollywood celebrities remembering the late actor, grabbed attention after one part of it resurfaced on social media — an overtly emotional speech of the actor’s elder son, Vijaya Prabhakaran.
Speaking about his late father in his first public address, 33-year-old Vijaya Prabhakaran said, “Now that Captain has left, many asked us about the future. Don’t think like that. He left us here for you. We, Vijaya Prabhakaran and (brother) Shanmugham, are here to fulfil his dreams. I am saying this with a lot of pride.”
In March, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), founded by the late actor as an alternative to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), fielded Prabhakaran, who is from Chennai, as its candidate in Virudhunagar, one of the party’s strongholds in the state.
Pitted against sitting Congress MP B. Manickam Tagore and NDA candidate Radhika Sarathkumar, Prabhakaran is expected to make the contest triangular even though this is his debut in electoral politics.
However, with the state going to polls 19 April in the first phase, Prabhakaran, a new face in the state’s political landscape, is relying on his father’s legacy and the strength of DMDK and the party’s ally AIADMK, apart from votes from the Telugu-speaking community to which he belongs.
“He will say things as Vijayakanth’s political successor and that he will fulfil his father’s dreams. All the cadre in the party will also say that only. Besides that, he doesn’t have any political statement,” said Ramasamy, a political analyst based in Tamil Nadu.
While Prabhakaran did not respond to calls by ThePrint, DMDK spokesperson Rajendranath refused to comment.
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Captain’s son new face for local electorate
Popularly called ‘Captain’, an allusion to his 1991 blockbuster movie Captain Prabhakaran, in which Vijayakanth, playing the role of Prabhakaran, sets out to catch a smuggler, the late leader named his son, who was born that year, after the character.
This was one of the ways that Vijayakanth created a perception that Prabhakaran was his successor, said Ramasamy. The DMDK will use this perception and Vijayakanth’s legacy to create an electoral impact even though Prabhakaran is not a popular face.
Launching his campaign at Sivakasi under the Virudhunagar constituency in the presence of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswamy last week, Prabhakaran said, “I was told that Captain spoke here in the same place. I am happy to be here and speaking to you.”
Prabhakaran also said though he always knew he would enter politics, he didn’t expect it this soon.
Notably, Prabhakaran, who was not active in the political landscape until recently, had sung and acted in a music video, ‘En Uyir Thozha’, three years ago. The song that motivates Tamil youth to unite for the nation’s development starts with a spirited Prabhakaran singing in front of his father’s picture and ends with a visual of him in the backdrop of DMDK flags.
“He did not interfere in the party’s administration as much his mother did. So, he is new to the local electorate,” said Sathiya Moorthy, former journalist and political commentator.
Moorthy said Prabhakaran would find it hard to familiarise himself with the local residents before the election as he doesn’t have much time to meet them.
The candidate, however, never forgets to mention his relationship with the district in his campaign trail.
“My father, Captain, was born in Virudhunagar, and he moved to Chennai. But I feel that God has decided the relationship (with Virudhunagar) would not discontinue. Don’t think I am from Chennai or why I have been fielded from here. Ancestrally, this is our soil. My grandfather was born here; my father was born here. Everyone here is my relative,” Prabhakaran said in Sivakasi, asking the public to “vote for Captain”.
The DMDK candidate added that his late father raised them by teaching them the difficulties of the average man.
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‘Do or die situation’ for DMDK
Known as Karuppu MGR, Vijayakanth from the Kollywood industry impacted Dravidian politics after MGR and Jayalalithaa.
Launched in 2005, his party got an 8.4 percent vote share in the 2006 assembly polls and 10.29 percent in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
The party joined hands with AIADMK in the 2011 assembly polls, won 29 seats and became the main opposition party in the state assembly.
In the following elections, DMDK lost its grip on the state and has been inactive for the past few years as Vijaykanth’s health deteriorated.
“This will be defining election as far as the party’s future is concerned. It may or may not win, but it has to show enough vote share. If they contest five constituencies, they have to come second or third place in a few,” said Moorthy.
He added that the party did not get enough time to revive itself after founder Vijayakanth’s death as it waited for its alliance partner to begin activities before the elections.
However, Ramasamy said the party is at an advantage as the seats it is contesting are its strongholds, which, along with the AIADMK vote base, will work in its favour.
Prabhakaran belongs to the Naidu community, and Ramaswamy said Prabhakaran will also have an advantage due to the substantial presence of the Telugu-speaking community in the Virudhunagar constituency.
He said the anti-BJP sentiment coupled with Radhika Sarathkumar’s unpopularity among the BJP cadre will also work in favour of Prabhakaran and may help him secure a second place.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, DMDK candidate R. Alagarsamy secured the second position, with a 29.4 percent vote share after Manickam Tagore’s 43.77 percent.
Apart from Virudhunagar, DMDK is contesting in Chennai Central (Parthasarathy), Cuddalore (Sivakolunthu), Thanjavur (Sivanesan), and Tiruvallur (Nallathambi).
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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