The Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Joint General Secretary, C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, has openly declared the BJP the ideological enemy of his party. Ruling out the possibility of the Tamil superstar entering an alliance with the BJP-led NDA, Nirmal Kumar recently reminded the party cadres and supporters not to believe “rumours” and to rely only on official announcements from the party.
“Various news stories are being circulated daily through the media and social media about the TVK based on speculation, with the aim of diverting attention from people’s issues,” he said in a statement.
TVK leaders are generally against an alliance with any of the established political fronts in the state, as it works against the aspect of freshness and change that they hope will work in their favour. However, a new report claims that the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit is still negotiating with the TVK and has offered to make Vijay the Deputy Chief Minister if they secure a majority. If the party joins the NDA fold, they are open to offering as many as 80 seats out of the 234 to them, a prominent national media outlet has claimed. The report further alleged that a Deputy Chief Minister is acting as the saffron party’s chief negotiator; however, the person’s identity was not revealed.
BJP wants Vijay’s TVK on board?
The BJP leadership is convinced that many constituencies in the state are going to be close-fought, and the pan-Tamil Nadu presence of ‘Thalapathy’ fans could become an X-factor. Even if the TVK can swing two per cent of the votes in favour of the NDA, it could be game-changing, they reportedly believe.
Meanwhile, with only a few hours remaining before the announcement of the Tamil Nadu assembly election date, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is questioning President Vijay in the stampede case. Vijay appeared for questioning at the CBI headquarters in Delhi around 10:30 am, Manorama Online said in a report.
The CBI is primarily investigating why Vijay arrived at the venue more than seven hours later than scheduled, why he continued his speech despite the large crowd and the problems caused by the rush, and what steps Vijay took, as party president and a superstar, to manage the crowd and disperse the people. Why he returned to Chennai urgently after the incident is another key issue being investigated. This is the third time Vijay has been questioned in relation to the Karur tragedy.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly date will be announced by the Election Commission on Sunday. While the DMK-led alliance is set to promote its "Dravidian Model 2.0", the BJP-AIADMK alliance is determined to reclaim power. The entry of Vijay's TVK into the electoral race is expected to make the contest a three-way battle.
