Chennai: In his first ever social event, actor-turned politician Vijay, founder of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), hit out at Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for protecting its alliance in the state for its own “selfish interests” and said that the people would overturn the alliance arithmetic in the 2026 assembly elections.
The DMK-led alliance in the state includes the Congress, Left parties, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), and a few other parties.
On Friday, Vijay released the book Ellarukumana Thalaivar Ambedkar (Everyone’s Leader Ambedkar), a compilation of essays about Ambedker written by Ambedkarites across the state, including VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan. The book was published by Vikatan Publications along with Voice of Commons (VoC), a political consultancy firm founded by Aadhav Arjuna, who is also the VCK deputy general secretary.
It was not just Vijay who took on the DMK. Arjuna, who participated in the event in his capacity as the founder of VoC, also took a dig at the ruling party by appealing to abolish dynastic politics in the 2026 election.
Speaking at the event in Chennai, Arjuna said the CM should not be elected based on birth.
“Monarchy system is not in place officially, But, monarchy politics continues here. In 2026, monarchy politics should be abolished and the CM should not be elected just by their birth,” he asserted, apparently referring to DMK’s youth wing secretary and Tamil Nadu deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is the son of CM M.K. Stalin.
The words of the VCK deputy general secretary seem to have caused some discomfort in the DMK-led alliance. VCK chief Thirumavalavan did accept that Arjuna’s statement had caused confusion within the alliance, but said he did not subscribe to it.
“We would seek an explanation from him for his speech. However, VCK does not subscribe to it. He (Arjuna) did not speak at the forum as the deputy general secretary of the party, but as a founder of Voice of Commons,” Thirumavalavan told the media.
Thirumavalavan was also supposed to participate in the book launch event as one of the chief guests, however, he chose to stay away, terming it “a conspiracy to cause confusion within the ruling DMK alliance”.
Nevertheless, while addressing the gathering, Vijay as well as Arjuna said the “heart of Thirumavalavan” is still here, although he was not able to participate in the event personally.
“I can understand the pressure he faces from the alliance partners, however, I strongly believe his heart is still here for us,” Vijay said at the event.
Responding to this, VCK general secretary Sinthanai Selvan alleged that Vijay was insulting Thirumavalavan.
“He never bowed to pressure from any quarter. It was the independent decision of our leader,” Selvan told ThePrint.
On Saturday, DMK minister P.K. Sekar Babu responded to Vijay’s criticism without mentioning his name. “Some without any political knowledge have criticised the DMK. Now we say, not 200, we will win all 234 assembly constituencies in the state,” he told the media in Chennai.
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Vijay’s request to Centre, warning to state
In his first ever political conference held at Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district on 28 October, Vijay had declared the BJP, in power at the Centre, as its ideological enemy and the DMK as its political enemy.
Speaking at the book release event, Vijay said it was important to protect democracy and save the Constitution of India.
“To protect democracy, elections should be held in a free and fair manner. This does not mean that now elections are not happening in a free and fair manner. But, every Indian should feel that it is happening in a free and fair manner. To instil confidence in people, election commissioners should be appointed based on consensus,” he said.
He requested the central government to declare 14 April, the birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, who prepared the Constitution, as Democratic Rights Day.
Referring to the Manipur violence and the Vengaivayal incident in Tamil Nadu, Vijay said Ambedkar would hang his head in shame, had he been alive now.
Vijay warned the DMK against “arrogantly” claiming to win 200 assembly seats (of 234) just by stitching alliances. “People of Tamil will minus your selfish alliance arithmetic calculations in the 2026 assembly elections,” he said.
While finishing his speech, Vijay said Thirumavalavan was not at the event because of pressure from the alliance partners. “He could not even come for the release of a book, that too a book on Ambedkar. I can understand the political pressure he undergoes. However, I can tell you all that his heart is here with us today,” Vijay said.
Arjuna’s attack
Arjuna, for his part, appealed to abolish dynasty politics in the state. He said that Tamil Nadu must be ruled by ideological leaders and referred to Vijay as a “shaping up ideological leader in the state”.
Stating that there was no communal polarisation in the state, Arjuna said that caste-based polarisation had taken over instead.
“Now we need not worry about the BJP gaining ground in the state since their vote share is very minimal here. Now, we should bother about the state of Dalit people and the oppressed people in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Referring to the incident in Vengaivayal, where human excreta was found in an overhead tank supplying water to Dalit residents, Aadhav alleged that the case had not been resolved because MLAs and ministers were elected based on their caste.
More than Vijay’s statements, Arjuna’s words have caused embarrassment to the VCK. The party’s deputy general secretary Vanniyarasu said the latter had been causing much discomfort to the party, which has been formed with a strong ideological foundation.
“He has just joined before the Lok Sabha election. But, his statements have been causing more and more damage to the party. We do not even bother about the alliance pressures. But, going against the words of the party leadership and deviating from the party’s ideological lines is something that is not going down well within the party,” Vanniyarasu told ThePrint.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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