Can Vijay repeat MGR's 1977 magic? What Tamil Nadu’s political history says

Addressing his cadres during the party’s second-anniversary celebrations, actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay invoked former matinee idol turned Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, predicting that the upcoming 2026 election in Tamil Nadu will be a watershed moment in state politics, akin to 1977. Vijay, who will be entering the electoral fray in the upcoming elections, has always fancied his performance to that of MGR’s in 1977.

“Opponents always dredge up old charges against the newcomers. They pull out something from 50 years ago and begin trolling us. When MGR came into politics, the same establishment asked the same questions they ask us about political experience,” Vijay said. He added, “They dismissed MGR in a similar way, saying he doesn’t know politics and only relies on glamour and publicity… the same talk comes up now. Technology has grown. At least change your technique, boss…” Vijay took a jibe.

The year 1977 has been an attraction, not just for Vijay, but for everyone from the tinsel town who wants to take the political plunge. But can Vijay repeat 1977 in Tamil Nadu? And why could no other actor after MGR repeat his victory in the Dravidian land influenced by Periyar’s ideologies and thoughts?

MGR makes history in 1977

1977 was a watershed moment in Tamil Nadu’s politics, making history in many ways. The year 1977 saw the rise of a matinee idol to absolute power and also marked the advent of bipolar politics – DMK and the AIADMK – in the state. It was also historic as MGR chose to complete his final leg of shooting for his Maduraiyai Meeta Sundarapandian after winning the election and before being sworn in as Chief Minister. It was also the year when national parties – the Congress under Indira Gandhi and the Janata Party under the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai – lost their space completely. The year also wrote off Congress veteran K. Kamaraj’s popularity in the state. And the DMK, which was dismissed during the Emergency, also lost its space in the state. But all this history was not just because of MGR or just his popularity. MGR’s political calculations, Indira Gandhi’s strategies after the Emergency, the Sarkaria Commission report against the DMK and the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi set the tone for the 1977 victory of the matinee idol then.

MGR’s arithmetic and political calculations

In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, just a few months ahead of the assembly general elections, MGR’s AIADMK forged an alliance with the Congress under Indira Gandhi and the Communist Party of India (CPI). The Lok Sabha election was held in March 1977, and the assembly election was in May 1977. The DMK-Janata-Communist Party of India (Marxist) combine was fighting against the AIADMK-Congress-CPI alliance. MGR’s alliance won in 34 out of the 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, while the DMK combine bagged only five seats. The AIADMK alone won in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies, which was a huge victory for the party to have representation in the Lok Sabha. Thanks to Indira Gandhi.

But just within months, as the Congress had lost power at the Centre, MGR felt that being with the Congress would only bring him negative votes, even though he had won the maximum number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections by being in alliance with the Indira Congress. More than the Congress, though the Janata Party formed the government at the Centre under Prime Minister Morarji Desai, it was also unpopular in the state. And MGR did not want to get into an alliance with the Janata Party, which was weaker than the Congress in Tamil Nadu.

MGR chose to forge an alliance with the CPI(M) in the assembly elections. The Marxists were in alliance with the DMK in the parliamentary elections, opposing Indira Gandhi, her Congress party, and the Emergency days. They were upset with the DMK because they could not win even in one constituency in the parliamentary elections. The equations between the DMK and the Marxists had hit a new low then. Understanding this rift, MGR sent his party office bearers to hold talks with the CPI(M) leaders in Chennai, which led to an alliance. Based on the voter turnout in the Lok Sabha elections and his victory, MGR calculated that the arithmetic would work in his favour. He decided to give away a few constituencies to the Marxists and fight the election from a majority number of constituencies. This idea favored him. The AIADMK contested in 200 out of the 234 constituencies and won from 130 seats to sit as the single majority party in the state assembly. Being in alliance with MGR’s AIADMK, the CPI(M) contested in 20 constituencies and won from 12 places. The AIADMK secured 30.36 percent votes in that election, and the Marxists, which won from 12 seats, secured 2.79 percent votes.

In most of the constituencies, though MGR fielded new faces, most of them had solid political experience as they walked away from the DMK along with their leader. More than this, MGR’s added strength came from V.R. Nedunchezhian, who was the second in command in C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi’s cabinet. Nedunchezhian had quit the DMK along with former ministers K. Rajaram and S. Madhavan and floated his own outfit called the ‘Makkal DMK’, which fought the 1977 election alliance with MGR’s AIADMK.

On the other side, the DMK contested in 230 out of the 234 constituencies. Apart from this, the Congress and the Janata Party made the election a four-way contest, which favored MGR. The Sarkaria Commission report branding Karunanidhi and the DMK as “corrupt” also contributed more pep to MGR’s campaign. The national parties – Congress and Janata – were confined to a 34 percent vote share in the state. The INC contested in 198 seats and won only in 27 assembly segments by securing 17.50 percent votes. Congress was in alliance with the CPI, which contested in 32 constituencies and won from five with a 2.9 percent vote share. The Janata Party contested in 233 out of 234 constituencies and won only from 10 seats with just 16.66 percent votes.

The DMK, on the other hand, contested from 230 constituencies and won only from 48, securing 24.89 percent votes. The 1977 election was just a 35 percent vote share election, and MGR could achieve a huge victory as it was a four-way contest.

Why MGR’s victory cannot be repeated, not just by Vijay but by anyone else in the state?

While 1977 was the first assembly general election for the AIADMK, MGR was very active in politics for more than two decades since the 1950s. His brother Chakrapani, in his book, recalls how MGR chose to be a “Gandhian” and was influenced by Gandhian thoughts. MGR came into the DMK in 1953, influenced by Periyar, and was travelling very closely with Karunanidhi, who wrote many of MGR’s screen dialogues in films like Manthiri Kumari. Karunanidhi’s fiery dialogues and MGR’s screen performance made the film talk about Dravidian politics in depth in the state. This was one major leverage MGR had, compared to every other actor from Kollywood who has come into politics in the state. In fact, when MGR came into politics, the Dravidian polity was just getting ideologically shaped under Annadurai and Periyar, with many Dravidian stalwarts like Karunanidhi and Nedunchezhian.

Apart from this, MGR also had solid political experience by campaigning for the DMK in four assembly general elections – 1957, 1962, 1967, and 1971. He had a stint as an MLC in the upper house. He also won as an MLA in 1967 from the then Parangimalai constituency (the present-day Alandur constituency), contesting as the DMK candidate. This is when he was called by his supporters and fans as the “Parangimalai Paari Puratchi Thalaivar.” These stints as MLC and MLA earned him public support beyond his fan clubs.

Again in 1973, just a few months after he split away from the DMK, his party contested in the Dindigul by-election. Maya Thevar was his first candidate. His party had just 21 days to face the election after getting the two leaves symbol. MGR ensured that the AIADMK got into an agreement with the Communists and made its candidate N. Sankaraiah withdraw from the election only to make way for AIADMK’s victory. On the last day of withdrawal of nominations on April 28, 1973, Sankaraiah opted out of the fray, and this was considered MGR’s masterstroke then.

And now, five decades later, the political scenario in the state is not dominated by the national parties, and it is already bipolar between the two Dravidian majors. Both parties have strong grassroots strength in the state. While there is a four-way contest even in the upcoming election, the political equations in the state are not like how they were in 1977. MGR’s popularity and his political experience, his idea of not being opposed to “any power centre in Delhi” always favored him. But he opposed the Congress and Janata, both national parties equally when in power. However, Vijay has not even chosen to launch an attack against the ruling BJP at a time when anti-BJP sentiments are deep in the state. Be it his JanaNayagan release, the Karur stampede case which was transferred to the CBI, or even the Income Tax case against him, Vijay or even his party members have not chosen to talk against the BJP.