JOIN USActor Vijay’s fans make a mark in Tamil Nadu local body polls
Over 100 fans of popular Tamil actor Vijay, who contested as independent candidates, have emerged victorious in the elections held to rural local bodies in nine districts of Tamil Nadu, raising expectations over the actor’s much talked about political plunge.
Of the 169 members of Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (TVMI) who contested the elections for various posts, as many as 115 have been elected in the elections held on October 6 and 9. Of the 115, 13 persons were elected unopposed.
The performance by Vijay’s fans is significant as even parties like Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) of actor Kamal Haasan and Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) could not make any headway this election. NTK has been contesting elections since 2016, while MNM made its debut in 2019.
Fans of Vijay have mainly won elections in village wards, while one member of the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam has been elected as president of a village panchayat in Villupuram district. Though the fans contested as independent candidates, actor Vijay allowed them to use his picture and the TVMI flag during the campaign.
“The victory is for our leader (Vijay). We went to people with his photos, and we firmly believe they voted for our leader. We could see the kind of admiration that people have for him (Vijay),” Bussy Anand, general secretary of Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam told Deccan Herald.
Anand, who visited all the nine districts where elections were held for the campaign, said the results are just a “trailer.” Asked whether the performance of his fans would encourage Vijay to take a formal plunge in politics, Anand said any decision on this will have to be taken only by the actor.
“Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam has been working for the people for the past few years and we are happy with the recognition we have received from the people,” Anand said, adding that members will contest the elections to urban local bodies as well if Vijay “allows them” to do so.
The decision by the actor’s fans to jump into electoral politics surprised many with Vijay resisting temptations from his supporters to float a party. His fans had demanded that Vijay enter politics and contest the 2021 elections, but the actor never paid heed to their request.
The move by the actor’s fans came amid Vijay’s father S A Chandrasekar informing a local court that he was dissolving Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI) after admitting in public that he and his son do not enjoy the best of the relations.
Chandrasekar, a film director and producer, launched VMI in the run-up to the 2021 elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly and even tried to register the organisation with the Election Commission of India (ECI). However, it is said, Vijay asked his father not to go ahead with the move as he was not interested in politics for now.
The incidents had then brought to the fore the differences between Vijay and Chandrasekar on the former’s political entry. Vijay is one of the top-ranking actors in Tamil cinema and has a huge fan following in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere.
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