Vijay as Tamil Nadu CM aspirant may find 'Vijay' in 2026 elusive

India Today

5 hours ago

During the shoot of 'Jana Nayagan' (People's Hero), Ilayathalapathy Vijay, as the actor is lovingly referred to by his fans, was asked by his co-star, Malayalam actor Mamatha Baiju, whether the movie would indeed be his last Kollywood outing. The movie, due to release on Pongal in January 2026, has been touted as Vijay's sayonara to the silver screen, ahead of his full-time plunge into a political role. According to Mamatha, Vijay gave a non-committal reply and said it will depend on how the elections go, adding, "we will see what happens".advertisementIf this reported admission made it seem that Vijay had a return to the movie pavilion plan ready in case of a poor outing at the political crease in April-May, he looked to pooh-pooh that with his July 4 announcement. The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the party founded by Vijay, announced that the actor will be its chief ministerial face in the 2026 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. It was quite a brave announcement for a party that is pretty much a one-man outfit and has no electoral experience to speak of.Announcing himself as the CM candidate allows Vijay to directly leverage his remarkable star power and the loyalty of his fans into political capital. He is directly challenging the established political order and that creates a compelling narrative for his supporters. It is to convey to the cadre that he means business and that his party and he will go for broke in the electoral summer. That will mean Vijay, at least for argument's sake, will be up against chief minister MK Stalin and former chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami for the top job in Chennai.
The timing is significant. For it comes just days after state leaders of both the BJP and AIADMK openly expressed hope that Vijay will join hands with them to fight against "evil forces". Friday's announcement, dissing the NDA and the DMK alike, was as filmy as some of the popular interval block twists in Vijay's movies. For he accused the BJP of "dividing people along communal lines" for the sake of "cheap politics and political mileage". Making it clear that the BJP remains a party non grata, he criticised the DMK and AIADMK for having allied with the BJP at different times in their political lives.By doing so, Vijay has decided against going the Pawan Kalyan way. The Telugu powerstar was part of the NDA in Andhra Pradesh in 2024 and became the deputy chief minister after securing victory. So is Vijay gambling with no sign of a pot of gold?Since Vijay is fond of interacting with students who perform exceedingly well in board exams and felicitating them, an education metaphor would be apt. The 2026 elections are more like the pre-board exams and Vijay's real test will come in the 2031 elections. All would, however, depend on whether he has the staying power for five years and not fade away like fellow actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi did in neighbouring united Andhra Pradesh. Chiranjeevi started his Praja Rajyam in 2008 with much fanfare, and similarly announced himself as chief ministerial aspirant against Chandrababu Naidu and the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy. When he did not get the desired result, he merged his party with the Congress to become Union Tourism minister in the UPA government.advertisementVijay's calculation is that if he were to join the NDA, he wouldn't be the leading man and would have to contend with being part of the supporting cast. The space on the posters will be hogged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, to a lesser extent, Palaniswami, and that would be anathema to Vijay and his fans, who are used to performing milk abhishekhams on large-size cutouts.Joining the NDA would also mean he, at best, would be able to contest in 25 to 30 seats, which would reduce his stature in the eyes of his fans. It is to be noted that unlike Vijaykanth and Kamal Haasan, who entered politics in the twilight of their movie career, Vijay is still one of the most bankable stars in Tamil cinema. He would not leave the huge purse he gets for each movie to play second fiddle to the AIADMK and the BJP.advertisementContesting as the third political force and looking to garner the youth and women's vote in addition to the vote that is looking for the novelty factor, Vijay knows he may indirectly help the DMK return to Fort St George by splitting the anti-incumbency vote. Which is why 2026 is more like a practice match for his TVK. The AIADMK, having already lost the 2019 Lok Sabha, 2021 assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections badly, would struggle to survive a fourth consecutive loss. If his party gets close to a 10 to 15 percent vote share, Vijay can aspire to position himself against the DMK, which is likely to see a baton change post 2026. A Vijay vs Udayanidhi Stalin, to the mind of Team Vijay, remains his best political bet. This is what Vijay's comrade in arms and advisor Prashant Kishor also reportedly believes.So, while the positioning of Vijay as the CM candidate of the TVK is good optics, it is only to enthuse the cadre and the people that the actor is not playing a friendly match. His visit to the home of Ajith Kumar, who died after being assaulted in police custody in Sivaganga, was to send the message that he was the alternative to the brand of Dravidian politics that has dominated Tamil Nadu since the 1960s.advertisementIncidentally, the 'Jana Nayagan' poster shows Vijay in a police uniform. With the Ajith Kumar tragedy dominating headlines in Tamil Nadu, the message that voters need to choose the right regime to ensure the right kind of policing, won't be missed either.(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)- EndsMust Watch
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