Chennai: When Tamil cinema’s biggest star Vijay entered politics last year with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), its inaugural state conference at Vikravandi in Villupuram district in October 2024 was seen as a curtain-raiser. Ten months later, the second conference in Madurai Thursday revealed how much ground he has covered—not just in political organisation but also in political messaging.
According to political analysts in Tamil Nadu, the journey of Vijay’s TVK from Vikravandi to Madurai shows an evolution from careful challenger to confident claimant of power.
The analysts also pointed out that Vijay’s first rally was about establishing his ideology and the second one at Madurai was all about strongly positioning himself as the primary opponent to established parties in the state.
The second TVK conference unfolded more like a grand festival than a political gathering, with Madurai’s outskirts turning into a sea of humans Thursday.
Vijay’s supporters began pouring in from Wednesday night onwards, and by the time the actor-politician made his entry, the Parapathi open ground along the Madurai-Thoothukudi highway was packed with tens of thousands of people waving flags and chanting slogans in support of the party.
During Vijay’s walk along a 300-metre ramp near the stage, the deafening cheers of supporters rose in waves, creating a political show of strength.
Addressing the gathering, for the first time Vijay took a dig at regional rival AIADMK, apart from attacks at his main political enemy, the ruling DMK, and ideological enemy BJP in power at the Centre.
He told the crowds that history would repeat itself in Tamil Nadu, referring to the years 1967, when the DMK led by C.N. Annadurai came to power in the state for the first time, and 1977, when the AIADMK led by M.G. Ramachandran got power.
“I didn’t get the chance to interact with MGR. But I had the opportunity to associate with my brother, Captain Vijayakanth, who dreamed like MGR. History is about to repeat itself. Just as political changes happened in Tamil Nadu in 1967 and 1977, I firmly believe that such history will repeat in 2026,” he told the gathering, adding that the voice that resonated at the conference was not his alone, but a collective voice of Tamil Nadu. The state is due for assembly elections next year.
Without taking its name, he targeted the AIADMK for being in alliance with the BJP.
“As long as MGR was there, no one could even dream of taking the CM’s seat. But who has protected the party that MGR founded? What is the state of that party now? Innocent party workers are struggling, unable to speak out about its condition,” he said.
Vijay next attacked the DMK saying that it was in a discrete alliance with the BJP.
“When in opposition, they say, ‘Go, Modi’; when in power, they say, ‘come’. This is the illicit relationship between the DMK and BJP. Stalin uncle, what’s this, uncle? It’s very wrong, uncle,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin.
He also questioned the DMK government for “not fulfilling” the promises made during the 2021 assembly election.
“Is there safety for women, law and order, justice, and a corruption-free system in your government, Stalin uncle? Is it enough to give women a thousand rupees? What about their safety? You are deceiving government employees, teachers, farmers, fishermen—everyone. Have they fulfilled all their promises? In 2026, we will pack up and send this government,” Vijay told the gathering.
He next questioned the central government for not retrieving Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka and not abolishing the NEET entrance examination.
“Prime Minister Modi, you are holding the reins of the central government for the third time. Did you come to power to serve all the people or to conspire against our Muslim friends? On behalf of the people, I have some questions for you. Did you retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka? Did you abolish the NEET exam? You refuse to do what is good and necessary for us. You run a minority government with the covert support of an RSS-driven alliance,” Vijay alleged.
He reaffirmed that the DMK was a political enemy and the BJP an ideological enemy.
In the first conference at Vikravandi, although Vijay had spoken about his political and ideological enemies, he had not taken any names. But this time, he named the DMK and BJP as enemies in front of the gathering in Madurai.
With this, political analysts said, the TVK leader has positioned himself as the main political contender in Tamil Nadu, instead of a new entrant.
“He has come up with ideological clarity and has clearly positioned himself as the primary opponent. This is the stark difference between his first conference in October 2024 and second one in Madurai now,” political analyst Priyan Srinivasan told ThePrint.
Also Read: At TVK general body meet, Vijay calls DMK ‘fascist’ and issues a word of caution to PM Modi
‘Every TVK vote is a vote for me’
At Vikravandi, Vijay had laid out his party’s ideological foundation. Evoking Periyar, Ambedkar, Kamaraj, Velu Nachiyar and Anjalai Ammal as the TVK’s ideological mentors, he rooted the party as a secular and social justice party.
Although he evoked Periyar’s ideology, centered around rationalism, self-respect, social justice, women’s rights and the eradication of caste and religious discrimination, he was careful to reject Periyar’s “anti-God” stance, signalling inclusivity.
Though the TVK was barely months old in October 2024, Vijay had declared the party would contest the 2026 assembly elections, and was open to alliances but firm about his leadership.
Fast forward to Madurai, and the confidence and affirmation in Vijay’s words stood out.
On a grand stage on the Madurai-Thoothukudi highway, flanked by cut-outs of MGR, Annadurai, and himself, Vijay declared that the TVK was no longer “an alternative” but the primary force that would win Tamil Nadu in 2026.
His slogan ‘Varalaru Thirumbugiradhu: Vetri Peraniyil Tamil Nadu’ (history repeats: Tamil Nadu on a victorious march) was both a campaign pitch and a political claim. He deliberately invoked former CMs Annadurai and MGR to woo the disillusioned AIADMK voter base.
Addressing the gathering, Vijay appealed to the people to vote for his party.
“Every vote for TVK is a vote for me. I am the maternal uncle of every child in Tamil Nadu. I, your Vijay, have come to work sincerely for you. I will stand with the people all my life. I have entered politics only to do good. Serving the people is my duty. I am the symbol of the party,” Vijay told the gathering.
Political analysts said Vijay’s tone in Madurai was not about establishing ideology—that had been done in Vikravandi—but about asserting inevitability.
“Vijay projected himself as the chief minister-in-waiting, positioning TVK not on the margins but at the centre of Tamil Nadu’s political battlefield. Whether it materialises or not, depends upon the work he puts forth in the next 10 months,” said political analyst A. Ramasamy, former professor in the Tamil department at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University.
Political analyst N. Sathiya Moorthy pointed out another shift in Vijay’s stance since his first conference.
“In Vikravandi, Vijay was open to partners, acknowledging that winning the majority in the assembly polls may not be certain. But, in Madurai, the narrative had shifted. He said that TVK would contest all 234 seats if necessary, and any alliance would only be under Vijay’s leadership,” he told ThePrint.
DMK & AIADMK ‘watchful’
Although the DMK and AIADMK refuse to take on Vijay on record, considering his mass support base, both parties are cautious about his political journey.
A senior DMK leader who did not want to be named said the party has discussed how Vijay might hurt their vote base in their strongholds.
“He almost has the same ideology as ours. But we do not have the support base of the Gen Z voters as much as he has now. We are watchful of his party’s actions on the ground and are working on the constituencies where they might take a lion’s share of our voter base,” the DMK leader told ThePrint.
On the AIADMK’s part, the party has already identified at least 15 constituencies where Vijay may play spoiler.
“Our internal surveys show he might be a spoilsport in at least 15 constituencies across the state, of which the majority are in the northern region, where Vijay organised his first conference,” an AIADMK leader privy to the survey told ThePrint.
While political analysts welcome the ambition of Vijay to become Tamil Nadu CM in 2026, they stress on the TVK’s need to do groundwork ahead of the state polls.
“What remains is the ground-level consolidation: booth committees, candidate selection, and alliance calculus. If the TVK can convert its conference crowds into structured votes, Tamil Nadu may well witness a serious third force since MGR’s AIADMK in 1977,” Srinivasan said.
For now, Vijay is no longer just an actor entering politics, but a politician staking claim to rule Tamil Nadu.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: A cutout worth a thousand words: Why Vijay is using Annadurai & MGR’s photos at TVK conference