'What bro, it's wrong': Actor Vijay ridicules BJP-DMK's social media war on language row, likens it to kindergarten fight

Chennai: Asserting that his party stood against the three-language formula, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor Vijay on Wednesday alleged that the BJP and DMK have a “secret understanding” and likened the tussle between the Tamil Nadu and Union Governments over allotment of funds to a “fight between kindergarten students.”

At an event to celebrate the beginning of the party’s second year, Vijay, flanked by his special political advisor Prashant Kishor, made it clear that the TVK was looking to script history in the upcoming 2026 elections like the 1967 and 1977 polls when the DMK and AIADMK stormed to power, respectively.

The event also saw party leader Aadhav Arjuna, who jumped ship from VCK recently, declaring that TVK was not born to contest in 40 or 45 seats and Vijay will function as the “de-facto” Leader of Opposition in the state until the 2026 assembly elections. His remarks scotches speculation that the TVK could ally with the AIADMK for the crucial assembly polls to defeat the ruling DMK.

Vijay also spoke about the unpredictability nature of politics by saying there is no permanent friend or foe, a statement that is being interpreted as a message to smaller parties for an alliance. The actor-politician had said he was open to sharing power with parties that accept him as the leader of the alliance.

Targeting both DMK and AIADMK

By projecting the BJP and DMK, TVK’s ideological and political enemies, as two sides of the same coin, Vijay’s target seems to take the place of AIADMK and break into a portion of the latter’s already declining vote base. By taking the DMK head on, Vijay wants to emerge as the principal challenger to the ruling party, replacing the AIADMK, at least in the near future, if not immediately.

Vijay’s assertions at the event that the booth-level infrastructure of the TVK could rival that of the established players in Tamil Nadu and the accusation that existing parties being interested only in corruption are seen as hints that he was taking on both the DMK and AIADMK, apart from the BJP.

Kishor, the ace political strategist who worked with the DMK in 2021, took a swipe at dynastic politics and expressed concern over wide-spread corruption in Tamil Nadu. He also said India wouldn’t have got cricketing talents like Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni if only the descendants of Sunil Gavaskar were to enter the field to drive home his point that fresh talents like Vijay should be given a chance in Tamil Nadu politics.

“Like how M S Dhoni helped Chennai Super Kings (IPL team) win every time, I will help Vijay in 2026. If there is a Bihari who is more popular than me in Tamil Nadu, it is MSD. If I help Vijay win elections, I will be the most popular Bihari here,” Kishor said.

'Kindergarten fight'

Vijay took a swipe at the BJP and DMK parties for “trending hashtags” against each other on X and other social media platforms on serious issues like three language formula and allotment of funds and termed them as an orchestrated drama.

“Funds to the education sector have been stopped by the Centre. It is the duty of the Centre to release funds and the state to secure its rightful share. But what we witness is them fighting like LKG and UKG students on social media by trending hashtags against each other. I am talking about fascism (BJP) and payasam (DMK),” Vijay said.

“They have a secret understanding, but they want people to believe that they are fighting with each other. Do you think people will believe you? What bro(ther)?. It’s very wrong bro(other),” the actor-politician said to a thunderous applause by his supporters. Ironically, Vijay also launched a hashtag campaign #GetOut asking people to cast their votes in favour of the TVK by rejecting both the DMK and BJP.

Without even mentioning the word Hindi once in his speech, Vijay said his party was opposed to the three-language policy though he maintained every individual has the right to learn any language in the state. “Tamil Nadu is a land of self-respect. We respect all languages but we will not allow another language with an ulterior political motive. We will oppose it tooth and nail,” he added.

Youth power

Vijay also justified giving prominent roles to youngsters in his party saying it was the younger lot which helped C N Annadurai and M G Ramachandran form governments in 1967 and 1977. He also said the party was full of people with humble background and the goal was to send home the “landlords” who have converted politics into their fiefdom.

“We are an emerging primary political force in Tamil Nadu politics with a firm commitment to create history in the upcoming 2026 elections like the 1967 and 1977 polls without compromising our party’s ideological principles at any cost,” he said, and told Kishor that he would work with him towards upholding secular and democratic ideals in TN and beyond.

Decades ago, Vijay said, landlords took a plunge into politics but in the past few decades, politicians themselves turned into landlords by thinking only about minting money.

“Infrastructure is the key for any political party and Tamil Nadu has roughly about 69,000 booths. We are appointing an in-charge for all booths and we will soon hold a conference of Booth Level Agents. That is when the state will come to know that TVK is a primary force in Tamil Nadu,” the actor added.

Vijay joins the long list of actors who have joined politics in Tamil Nadu starting from M G Ramachandran to J Jayalalithaa to Sivaji Ganesan to Vijayakanth, and Kamal Haasan.

While the first two made it big in politics like in the silver screen, the last three couldn’t register much success, though Vijayakanth briefly altered the bipolar politics in the state. Superstar Rajinikanth didn’t enter politics citing his ill-health after promising to launch a party and contest the 2021 elections.

Vijay’s political plunge is gutsy as no actor could recreate the MGR magic in about four decades in a state where over 75 per cent of the vote share is controlled by DMK and AIADMK, the Dravidian majors who have been ruling the state alternatively since 1967.

Apart from taking on seniors like Chief Minister M K Stalin and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, Vijay will also fight for space with relatively young leaders such as Udhayanidhi Stalin, and BJP state chief K Annamalai.