Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026 | DH Interview: Vijay is just one among the Dravidian parties, says Seeman

NTK chief coordinator S Seeman spoke to E T B Sivapriyan about his alternative politics, why he always contests elections independently, his opinion on new-entrant Vijay, and why he thinks people will one day choose Tamil nationalism over Dravidianism.

Chennai: Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK), which espouses the cause of Tamil nationalism and projects itself as an alternative to Dravidian ideology, is now a non-ignorable factor in Tamil Nadu politics despite its controversial actions like eulogising LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. The party has been gaining traction among youngsters and those clamouring for change for the past 15 years.

In an interview with DH’s ETB Sivapriyan, NTK chief coordinator S Seeman spoke about alternative politics, why his party always contests elections independently, his opinion on new entrant Vijay, and why he thinks people will one day choose Tamil nationalism over Dravidianism. Edited excerpts:

Q. The NTK’s vote share has risen from 1% in 2016 to 8.22% in 2024. How do you perceive your growth? 

A. We can achieve success only when we defeat the entrenched system of bribing voters. People do vote for parties like NTK that presents alternative politics but the cash for votes force them to gravitate towards the Dravidian parties at the last minute. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the NTK secured about 36 lakh votes, which is 8.22 per cent of the total vote share. 

 We see this as an endorsement of our politics since so many people trusted us in a national election. We achieved this despite our party allotted a new symbol at the last minute and us not projecting anyone as the prime ministerial candidate. 

We are sowing the seeds of change in people’s minds and we are hopeful of convincing people to vote for us. If we went from 4 per cent to 8 per cent vote share in just five years, why can’t it multiply to 16 per cent? And since this is a state election, people cannot overlook NTK. 

As far as the 2026 elections are concerned, the NTK and Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) are new players. People who seek alternative will have to choose between us. 

 I know it will take a long time to earn the trust of the people and I am willing to wait till then. People search for my candidates in EVMs and vote for them; they have the quench for a chance and when it expands, I will be their favourite.  

Q. The NTK has fielded six Brahmin candidates, which no other party does in Tamil Nadu. And you have even fielded Dalit candidates in General seats. Why? 

A. When I introduced all 234 candidates on the dais, you would have seen 117 men and 117 women on either side of the stage. We take efforts to ensure that every community, especially those that took root in Tamil Nadu, is represented. 

 I should have fielded seven Brahmin candidates, but I could field only six; likewise, Muslims should have been given 15 tickets, but I could field only 10 this time. Why should I not field Brahmins? Tell me one reason for that. Is it because the Dravidian ideology is against them? Then I will field them all the more.

 I practice what I preach. I allot seats to people from marginalised communities that have been forgotten by the Dravidian parties who scream about social justice. I have fielded Dalit candidates in General seats as I believe in equality and social justice. 

 J Jayalalithaa had the courage to field a Dalit in a general constituency in the past. But will any party, especially the DMK, muster the courage to take this bold step? Why cannot Dalits contest from general seat? What is that they are afraid of? Theirs is vote bank politics disguised as social justice politics but we don’t subscribe to their style. 

Q. There is a criticism that you are able to do such experiments only because you are nowhere close to achieving power? They also say no political party which is into electoral politics can implement such measures once it starts tasting power. How do you respond?

A. This is only to demean our efforts. Ideally, political parties that have been come to power should have done this. They have not done. Either, they should do it or people should vote for me as I am already ensuring social justice. 

We may not have won seats but changes are already visible for everyone to see; it is only because of our constant efforts to focus on marginalised sections, the DMK government has made a Dalit the Higher Education Minister. Till now, Dalits MLAs were only given light-weight portfolios. 

They have made an Arunthathiyar, a sub-sect of Dalits, as the Human resources Minister. If not for our efforts, they would not have bothered to do such things. 

Q. Have you ever thought of allying with the Dravidian or national parties? 

A. I have always maintained that NTK will never ally with established parties. Alliances push political parties to compromise on their principles and we are not ready for that. 

Moreover, how can I align with the DMK and AIADMK who are morally and ideologically bankrupt. Both parties are only into competitive populism; they don’t compete in driving growth to the state. 

If one gives Rs 5000, the other promises Rs10,000 and if one offers free buses for women, the other does it for men as well. Where is the vision here? I am not here to grab power at the earliest but to bring out a real change in governance and in politics. 

 What we seek is not mere regime change but a sweeping change in the way politics is perceived and conducted. I can’t ally with the Congress and BJP too. Yes, I did get feelers from a party to join their alliance with the promise to be project as a deputy CM candidate. But I am not interested.

Q. Which is that party?

A. I can’t say that. If one party approached me to defeat the DMK, you take a guess at which party it would be.

Q. Your opinion on actor Vijay and his TVK?

A. The real fight for an alternative to the Dravidian majors is between NTK and TVK. I expected more from Vijay and he should have prepared himself for at least five years before entering politics. But the real letdown is that he says he subscribes to both Dravidian and Tamil nationalism ideologies. One can’t follow both at the same time. 

Vijay is actually no alternative or change agent because he talks about the same Dravidian politics against which we have been fighting. He has also promised cash benefit transfers like the Dravidian majors. Where is the change here? What is new that he offers? He says he sees C N Annadurai, MGR, and J Jayalalithaa, as role models. What does he take from them? 

Will he emulate the corruption model of Dravidian parties or will he emulate their cash for votes politics? He has to present a roadmap for the state but he doesn’t have one. He lacks clarity on what he intends to. His ideology is confusing. I can say for sure that he is no alternative. 

Q. Who is your primary opponent in the 2026 polls?

A: All four parties – DMK, AIADMK, Congress, and BJP – are my political opponents. They are the reason for the condition of the state today. They surrendered Tamil Nadu’s rights over Cauvery water, they ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. It is the Congress which gave away every right and never bothered to work for people. 

The state’s debt is increasing every year and show me one good scheme that directly benefits the people other than cash transfers. Both have corruption cases against them? These parties are managing to get votes only through cash transfers. 

The DMK promised jobs for locals but what has happened now is the entire government servants have come to the streets. There is no community that has not protested in Tamil Nadu. We need a fundamental political change. What is happening now is just power politics.