Actor-turned-politician Vijay on Thursday declared that his party, Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), will contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections without aligning with either the BJP or the DMK.
Addressing the party’s second state-level conference in Madurai, he told thousands of supporters, “BJP is ideological enemy and DMK is the only political enemy.”
Ruling out any deal-making, Vijay said, “I don’t have the need to join any slave alliance. Our alliance won’t be a selfish alliance. It’ll be a self-respect oriented alliance.”
In a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vijay accused the BJP of neglecting Tamil Nadu. “You are not doing what’s important for us. You are keeping alliance with RSS for appeasement. You think you can have a smooth journey till 2029. Let me make it clear. Water droplets don’t stick on lotus petals. Tamilians won’t stick to BJP. You are hiding the findings of Keezhadi,” he said.
Vijay also demanded action on Tamil Nadu-specific concerns. “Our Tamil Nadu fishermen have been arrested. Please give back Katchatheevu to our fishermen. We don’t need NEET. Please revoke it,” he said.
Turning to the ruling party, he targeted Chief Minister MK Stalin. “Stalin uncle, what uncle? Stalin, is it enough if you gave Rs 1,000 to women? Can you hear the sounds of those crying women? Very wrong uncle, very wrong. You are cheating women, Parandhur airport farmers, fishermen. Very worst, uncle!”
The TVK chief also broke his silence on AIADMK after MG Ramachandran’s death, saying, “The party that MGR started-who protects it? How is the party now? I don’t have to say it.” On the party’s ties with BJP, he said, “When there’s a raid, they go to Delhi and meet PM Modi. After that the issues die down. Have you noticed?”
Using symbolic imagery, Vijay told the crowd, “A lion is always peculiar. If it roars once, the sound will vibrate for eight kilometres. There are so many jackals in the forest but there will be only one lion. It is the king of the jungle. A lion is always a lion. This is a clear declaration.”
He hinted TVK would field candidates in all constituencies. “Let me announce the candidate list for the 2026 elections. I will stand in Madurai East, Madurai South, Usilampatti, Mellur — the entire Madurai. I will stand in all 234 seats,” he said.
Vijay placed his political journey in perspective. “Before I came to politics, many said I won’t come. When I started the party, they said it wasn’t enough and people wouldn’t vote for us. When I had first the manaadu, they said I did it with Bussy Anand and that I came directly from shooting,” he recounted.
Rejecting dismissals of his acting background, he said, “What matters is if a political leader is honest. Not if he was an actor before. Don’t simply harp that I am a cinema actor. Not all politicians are smart, not all cinema actors are dumb.”