Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 25: Armed with the “whistle” symbol the Election Commission of India (ECI) has allotted to his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, the actor-turned-politician Vijay on Sunday pitched his party against both the ruling DMK and the main opposition AIADMK, giving a call to the people that neither the “evil force” nor the “corrupt force” should rule over Tamil Nadu.
This was the first time the actor-politician spoke critically about the AIADMK, without explicitly naming the party but referring to it as “the party that ruled Tamil Nadu earlier”.
Sending a strong message shortly after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned him in connection with the Karur stampede and his upcoming film was blocked, actor-politician Vijay today said he “won’t surrender under pressure” and “won’t bow down”. Vijay made the remarks at a strategy meeting in Mamallapuram attended by 3,000 state and district-level party functionaries.
Referring to the upcoming Tamil Nadu election, in which his party TVK is likely to make a poll debut, Vijay told his supporters, “It is not just an election, but a democratic war. You are my commandos who will fight this war.” Targeting the DMK and the main opposition AIADMK, Vijay said, “Those in politics have forgotten Anna, including those whose party’s name has Anna.” Anna here refers to CN Annadurai, Tamil Nadu’s former Chief Minister and a key ideologue in Dravidian politics. Vijay said only the TVK has the guts to take on both the ‘evil force’ (DMK) and the ‘corrupt force’ (AIADMK).
Addressing TVK functionaries at a private resort in Mamallapuram, nearly 60 km south of Chennai, Mr Vijay alleged, “The party that ruled Tamil Nadu earlier surrendered directly to the BJP and could not be trusted. The present ruling DMK is one step worse. The former surrenders directly, while the latter surrenders covertly. That is the only difference.”
According to him, these parties were releasing colourful and attractive announcements, in view of the upcoming elections, to prevent their real intentions from being exposed. The people of Tamil Nadu were now under pressure because they had been repeatedly cheated by parties that ruled alternately. “Now, people are trusting TVK and believe that Vijay will stand with them,” he claimed.
TVK leaders have said the party is set to begin a statewide campaign tour from Monday. This tour will cover all 234 Assembly constituencies of the state to rally support ahead of the state polls. TVK has not yet announced an alliance with any party. TVK leaders said only Vijay would take a call on any political tie-ups. “We will win alone without any friends, “Vijay said.
Mr Vijay promised to provide a corruption-free government if his party was voted to power and said he would never compromise on corrupt practices. He contended TVK was the only party that had the strength to oppose the parties which have been in the seat of power in Tamil Nadu. He told party functionaries it was not enough for people to have confidence in him alone. Those who travel with him should also earn the confidence of the people.
He urged the functionaries to remain steadfast and united in carrying out election-related work. Referring to former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai’s slogan “Makkalidam Sel” (reach out to the people), he said the party sincerely adopted this principle and that party workers should implement it properly.
He alleged the party founded by Annadurai (the DMK) had become selfish and the party formed in Annadurai’s name (the AIADMK), both have also forgotten the late leader. He claimed for the ruling party and the party that ruled earlier, a polling booth was merely a place to cast bogus votes. But for TVK, a polling booth was a democratic assembly, he said, and urged party workers to ensure democracy was not stolen.
He described booth-level agents as the party’s frontline warriors. The upcoming election, he said, was not just another election but a “democratic battle” that would be led by grassroots-level functionaries as commanders. He also urged party workers to extend full cooperation to the candidates to be announced by the party and said whether with or without an alliance, his party would emerge victorious.
The 51-year-old superstar, who has recently jumped into the political arena, has made headlines over the past few months. In September last year, 41 people were killed in a stampede at a rally Vijay addressed in Tamil Nadu’s Karur. He is now being investigated by the CBI in this connection and was questioned twice in Delhi. Vijay’s movie Jana Nayagan has been in the news after the Censor Board blocked its release. The actor has approached the courts to get the decks cleared for release.
The TVK was allotted “whistle” symbol by the ECI on Thursday. The debutant TVK approached the ECI on November 11 last year seeking the allotment of an election symbol to the party under the provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. It submitted a list of seven symbols that were already available in the list of free symbols and three self-created symbols for consideration. Welcoming the ECI’s decision, Mr Vijay, in a social media post had said ‘whistle’ was a sound of joy, and was closely associated with celebrations of common people.
Meanwhile, actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) was allotted the “battery torch” symbol by the ECI. The MNM had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 State Assembly elections on the same symbol.
