Tamil actor Vijay’s fans contest local body elections

Popular Tamil actor Vijay may still be undecided on taking the political plunge, but his fans have taken the first step by contesting the local body elections as independent candidates.

As many as 169 die-hard fans of Vijay who are active members of Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam are in the fray in the elections scheduled for local bodies in nine districts on October 6 and 9. The Iyakkam’s general secretary Bussy Anand said the candidates have been allowed to use photographs of actor Vijay and the organisation’s flag during the campaign.

“The candidates who are contesting the elections wanted to use the flag and photos of Vijay. When we took this request to Vijay, he gave the green signal. Only after the nod from Vijay, the candidates have been allowed to use the pictures and flag,” Anand said.

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.

Sources said 169 members of the Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam are contesting the elections for various posts like panchayat chief, ward councillor and union councillor. The sources said Vijay allowed his fans to contest the election only to “respect their sentiments” and that one should not “read too much” into the move.

The move by the actor’s fans comes 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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