Chennai: As actor-turned-politician Vijay prepares to host his party’s second conference Thursday, lifesize cut-outs of DMK founder C.N. Annadurai and AIADMK founder M. G. Ramachandran have been placed alongside his own on the stage at the venue in Madurai.
The cut-outs of the two former chief ministers of the state though were more than just stage decoration.
Political analysts in the state say it signals an effort on part of Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to reach out to AIADMK supporters disillusioned by factional fights, a multiplicity of power centres and its “uneasy alliance” with BJP in the state. They say it also represents Vijay’s political aspirations.
The TVK is organising its second conference at Parapathi on the Madurai-Thoothukudi Highway in Madurai Thursday, 10 months after the first conference held at Vikravandi in Villupuram district.
The cut-outs were accompanied with the phrase ‘Varalaru Thirumbukirathu’ (history repeats) with years noting 1967, 1977 and 2026.
It was in 1967 that the DMK led by C.N. Annadurai came to power in the state for the first time, while the AIADMK led by MGR earned power in 1977. The mention of 2026, when assembly elections are due in the state, is an obvious statement of Vijay’s aspiration to come to power in the state just like them.
‘A clear agenda’
Political analyst A. Ramasamy, a former professor in the Tamil department at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, pointed to the time and place where the images of former chief ministers are used.
“They have chosen to use the images of the two chief ministers in Madurai, because they see an opportunity to woo AIADMK supporters in the southern belt,” Ramasamy told ThePrint.
“Because it is in the southern region that AIADMK supporters, who were earlier supporting former AIADMK leaders O. Panneerselvam, T.T.V. Dhinakaran and V.K. Sasikala, all belonging to the dominant Mukkulathor community in south, are disillusioned with the current leadership under Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who belongs to the Gounder community, who are dominant in the Western region of the state.”
He also noted that it is the first time that Vijay’s TVK is using the images of Annadurai and MGR in his party meeting.
“After their first conference, the party has been conducting booth committee meetings and other small events at their party headquarters in Chennai as well as in other districts. But, they did not use the images of MGR and Anna there, but chose to use it in Madurai. It shows a clear agenda behind it,” Ramasamy noted.
Political analyst Priyan Srinivasan observed that the AIADMK has been unusually restrained with Vijay’s use of MGR’s image, a sharp contrast to the fierce criticism it directed at Vijayakanth and Kamal Haasan when they made similar attempts earlier.
“There seems to be some sort of understanding between the AIADMK and the TVK. He (Vijay) has been soft over the AIADMK ever since he floated his party in February 2024. The AIADMK also seems to be soft over Vijay. This is purely an attempt to bring in the unsatisfied AIADMK voters into his fold,” Srinivasan told ThePrint.
In 2007, actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth claimed himself as a “black MGR”. However, he faced the wrath of AIADMK workers. J. Jayalalithaa, the then party general secretary, condemned Vijayakanth for ‘appropriating’ MGR.
Similarly in 2020, when actor-turned politician Kamal Haasan claimed himself as the MGR 2.0, the AIADMK led by Palaniswami criticised him. “Where was MGR’s touch in Kamal Haasan?” he asked.
However, there has not been any official reaction from the AIADMK, not until now anyway, against Vijay for using MGR’s image in his party conference.
When asked about it, AIADMK spokesperson Babu Murugavel said nobody can replace the party and attract its supporters just by using MGR’s image.
“People know who are the real followers of MGR and who are making use of his image to attract voters. All the new entrants in politics are using MGR’s image, but only the AIADMK has sustained and succeeded,” Babu Murugavel told ThePrint.
The first conference
In the first conference held in October 2024, Vijay had declared the DMK as his party’s political enemy and the BJP as its ideological enemy. He had also declared Rationalist Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, former chief minister K. Kamaraj, B.R. Ambedkar, freedom fighters Rani Velu Nachiyar and Anjalai Ammal as the party’s ideologue.
Their photos can also be seen at the stage at the second conference but they are smaller compared to the two former chief ministers’.
Political analysts say Vijay is welcome to nurture hopes of becoming a chief minister in 2026, but “his aspiration is not reflecting on the ground work”.
“While I appreciate his ideological clarity while entering into the party, he has not really hit the ground ever since his first conference. To recreate what the former chief ministers did in 1967 and 1977, he has to work harder,” Srinivasan told ThePrint.
With just eight months to go for the state assembly elections, Vijay’s supporters too have high hopes from the actor who launched his political party in February 2024.
Sources in the TVK told ThePrint several resolutions are slated to be passed at the conference, including two concerning southern districts.
“One resolution would be to pass a special act (after the party comes to power) against honour killing cases and another one would be to condemn the custodial killing of a security guard in Sivagangai district,” a source told ThePrint.
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