It was a day of politically laced statements for actor Vijay fans. A day ahead of his 48th birthday, his fans have put up posters across the state scripting his political debut.
Vijay, who is known as ‘Thalapathy’ or leader among his fans is a successful star in Tamil cinema for the past three decades with a huge fan base. His latest film ‘Varisu’ was a super hit at the box office. His next, ‘Leo’, directed by popular director Lokesh Kanagaraj is expected to carry all the political punches that Vijay wants to tell his fans. Incidentally, the opening line of the first single to be released from the film's album starts with “Naan Ready Tha”, meaning “I am ready”, which according to his fans hints at his political debut.
Vijay’s political plunge was first initiated by his father S.A. Chandrasekar, in 2009, when his fan club was launched. The fan club was launched on July 26, 2009, at Pudukottai with much fanfare. The fan club in 2011 pledged its support to then AIADMK, led by Jayalalithaa. This was when Vijay’s 'Sura', produced by Sun TV had bombed in the box office, while Vijay and his father Chandrasekar had fallen out with the DMK.
The fan club has branches in almost all 38 districts in the State. In fact, in November 2020, when his father Chandrasekar registered a political party in Vijay’s name, the actor chose to distance himself and asked his fan club members not to be part of the party registered by his father. Though Vijay never had concrete plans for his political entry, the members of the Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (TVMI) won 115 out of the 169 seats it contested during the rural local body polls in 2021. Out of the 169 seats it contested, TVMI won 102 seats and was elected unopposed to 13 seats. The performance of TVMI in the 2021 local body poll came as a surprise at a time when Vijay chose to remain silent about his political plans.
TVMI won seats in Chengalpattu, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and won significantly in Kallakurichi, Kanchipuram and Villupuram districts, making it easy for the fan club to spread its wings in the respective districts. Also, TVMI had regular meetings, headed by its general secretary Bussy N. Anand. TVMI, which has now transformed into 'All India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam', had been carrying out groundwork in all the constituencies across the state, even before Vijay took the plunge.
Sources close to Vijay say that the actor has been consulting retired bureaucrats and civil servants and holding meetings with political strategists who have helped him carry out political surveys in all 234 assembly segments in Tamil Nadu. In fact, Vijay’s June 9 speech about Periyar, cash for votes, and corruption was following meetings he had with the bureaucrats and political strategists, sources say.
In a state where cinema and politics are two strong bedfellows, Vijay is likely to make his political debut in the 2026 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and not during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
