Actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, from Tamil Nadu, is reiterating his inabilities in politics and people’s affairs with his new speech at the second state conference of Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), held on August 21 at Madurai. Vijay announced his political party on February 2, 2024, and is trying to expand his party in Tamil Nadu. The state’s political terrain is built differently, with the regional parties rooted in the ideology of Dravidian enchantment dominating the culturally rooted landmass for decades. Vijay’s expectations are larger within the small time framework, by anticipating a whooping victory in the 2026 Legislative assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. But the potentiality of such a victory is impractical as per the ground-level observations.
His entire speech, well-scripted, possibly by a film writer, resembled some of his box-office disaster films, with way too unrealistic perceptions and false narratives. He announced the candidates for the upcoming elections in a cinematic style by saying that he himself is the candidate in all 234 assembly constituencies, and people should support the candidates fielded by him with a premonition that whoever the candidate is, the vote is indirectly for Vijay. This makes us feel how much Vijay is judgmental of the electoral literacy of the people of Tamil Nadu, that he feels that he can field a rubber stamp in any constituency, and the people will vote for them. It’s high time that Vijay should remember the fact that the fan following he has for some mass-masala films is not going to reflect in the electoral turnout.
Earlier in the previous conference itself, he announced that the BJP is their ideological enemy, and DMK is their political enemy in the upcoming elections. But what exactly is the ideology of TVK? ‘No one knows for sure. ’ How can a political party that is just based on opposing other ideologies withstand the long run in a highly competitive electoral terrain? ‘Even his die-hard fans wouldn’t know.’ The speech also made his stand clear by only making provocative statements against the central government, and gently opposing the state government led by DMK. If his intentions are with the upcoming state elections, he should possibly take a serious stand against DMK. Throughout the speech, there wasn’t even a mention of the recent honour killings in the state, as well as violence against women. The actor who visited the families of people who lost their lives at Kallakuruchi due to illicit liquor consumption may not have time to spare for the family of Kavin, who was a victim of honour killing at Tirunelveli. Vijay simply forgot the strike led by the sanitation workers in Chennai for a decent way of living. Further, he is not even bothered about the educational and employment issues faced by the people of Tamil Nadu. Similar to other Dravidian parties, Vijay just wants to follow the trend of caste and minority appeasement politics.
Vijay seems to be deeply concerned with the communal tensions erupting across the country, and alleges that the Prime Minister is behind this. Rather than putting in efforts to cook up such fictional stories, Vijay can focus on the real incidents happening in Tamil Nadu. He may not be aware of the caste clashes that erupted just three months before, during a temple festival at Vadakadu in Pudukottai district, where more than seven houses were vandalised. Vijay may be further unaware about the issues faced by certain school students in Tamil Nadu belonging to socially backwards classes, forced to eat meals separately, subjected to slurs, and even forced to clean toilets instead of studying. He diverts these issues and presents his narrative on the NEET examination, where he claims that once TVK is in power, NEET will be banned in Tamil Nadu. The same claim was made by DMK at the time of the 2021 legislative assembly elections, and still, they are not able to bring any regulations to it, and the entire student community of Tamil Nadu is with the NEET, with success stories coming from more and more villages. Recently, K. Ganesh Kumar, a student from Vadakarai village with a poor financial background, became the first person from his village to secure an MBBS seat at the Government Medical College in Dindigul through NEET.
Another issue of serious concern is Vijay’s proclamation to reclaim ‘Kachatheevu’, an island which was callously given to Sri Lanka by the then Congress government with the support of DMK. The 1974 agreement initially allowed Indian fishermen access to Katchatheevu for resting and drying nets, as well as for attending the annual St. Anthony’s festival. However, the 1976 agreement prohibited fishermen from both countries from fishing in the other’s exclusive economic zones. What solution Vijay is expecting for this issue is not clearly stated. Being a complex and sensitive matter impacting the lives of fishermen and influencing India-Sri Lanka relations, Vijay should be more precise in putting up such statements, and rather not put up calls for civil resilience against such issues. He still thinks he is the lead character from the recent film ‘Beast’, which performed pathetically at the box office, where he saves the country and arrests a terrorist from Pakistan, and brings him in a Rafale jet. The common theme of all of his films is the projection that he is a ‘Saviour’. He should come out of these delusions and start seeing the world from a common man’s perspective.
Towards the end of his speech, he made a statement that ‘Even water doesn’t stick to the Lotus leaf, then how will Tamilians stick to it? ’. Vijay should remember that only Lotus was able to bring the First President of India from Tamil Nadu, and is going to bring India’s First Vice President from Tamil Nadu. If in the future, a Prime Minister from Tamil Nadu comes, it will also be because of the same Lotus. By continuing his soft-spoken skills with DMK, he can become another Kamal Hassan, and possibly get a Rajya Sabha seat in the future under the mercy of the Stalin family, and start releasing films under the distribution of ‘Red Giant’ movies. Let’s hope that Tamil Nadu doesn’t fall in the cinematic trap of the so-called ‘ saviour’.
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