Amid high expectations, stage set for actor Vijay party's maiden political conference

Chennai: The expectations are expectedly high as it was billed as a political party with a difference.

Will he usher in the much needed change in this Dravidian heartland of Tami Nadu that was ruled alternatively by the DMK and the AIADMK over the last six decades after the defeat of the Congress regime after K Kamaraj era in 1967.

It was in this background, the stage is all set for the nascent Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam's (TVK) first political conference to be held at Vikravandi in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu on Sunday where Party founder and Kollywood icon Vijay will deliver his maiden address after unveiling the party's ideology and the roadmap which was expected to have a bearing on the 2026 Assembly elections, which was his target.

The actor announced his political foray in February last year,unveiled the party's symbol and Flag a few months later, but chose not to contest the recent Lok Sabha polls, and instead asserted that his party would not support any political party as his target was only the 2026 Assembly polls in which his party announced that it would contest all the 234 seats.

Th actor-turned politician's political foray has been welcomed by leaders of various parties including ruling DMK Youth Wing leader and Deputy Chief Minister, also an actor-turned politician, Udhayanidhi Stalin, BJP, Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) Coordinator and actor-director Seeman.

Apart from the resolutions to be adopted at the first conference in a location that has little political significance--as leaders had in the past had traditionally chosen the southern Madurai and the Central region of Trichy--the party's ideology and the roadmap to be unveiled by him is being watched keenly in the political circles.

Vijay, whose films of later had been loaded with political connotations, had been stating that the party's policies that would be its conscience, would centre on people's welfare and would be the mantra as he felt the conference would be the ideal launch pad to make public the party’s policies and programmes.

The huge dais has been modelled like Fort. St.George, the seat of power that indicated his political ambition in his party's maiden electoral venture in 2026.

Apart from this giant cut outs of political icons, right from rationalist Dravidian stalwart and social reformer ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy to architect of Indian Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar and Congress veteran K Kamaraj, the famed

Tamil kings of the yore – Cheran, Cholan and Pandiyan, besides the valiant queen Velu Nachiyar who fought the British, dotted the venue.

By erecting the cutouts of dravidian stalwarts, Vijay has dropped enough hints that his party might toe the line of the dravidian policies and ideologies.

Vijay’s massive cutout garnered attention as it was flanked by the pantheon of icons dropping enough hints that the party's political aim is to protect and strive for Tamil pride coupled with social justice and nationalism.

Fans turned party cadres had already started thronging the venue much in advance. All the hotels and lodges were booked and those coming with their family members and children from various districts for the conference, have for the first time, taken houses on rent for a few days.

The concept of party cadres taking houses for rent has been unheard of so far.

In a letter to his party cadre on the eve of the conference, Vijay said “The successful conduct of the conference would make every doubting Thomas to realise that the TVK is a political party with a difference and will be well grounded with a clear focus.”

Earlier, unveiling the party flag and logo in August last year, he had said that “Let us prepare ourselves as a political party and dedicate ourselves to the growth and development of Tamil Nadu. Victory is certainly ours.”

The Party has formed a slew of committees for the successful conduct of the conference which was expected to be attended by at least five lakh cadres.

Police have also made elaborate security arrangements by deploying 15,000 personnel to prevent any untoward and a separate road stretching to one km and a 800m ramp was set up to ensure that the actor reaches the dias without any hassles.

Political pundits foresee Vijay’s political plunge might alter the DMK Vs AIADMK bipolarity in Tamil Nadu into a multipolar one and if he projected himself as a yet another Chief Ministerial contender, considering that he has a massive fan following.

Vijay has surpassed legends like Superstar Rajinikanth and Thespian Kamal Hassan as the biggest box office star and one of the highest paid in the film industry.

Vijay's political entry has come at a time when Rajnikanth, who had signalled his political ambitions but backed out of it later, and Kamal Hassan, who too had entered politics with the launch of his party Makkal Neethi Maiam (MNM), unsuccessfully contested from Coimbatore South Assembly seat in his maiden electoral foray in 2021, before entering into an alliance and extending support to the ruling DMK-led Front, while deciding not to contest the recent Lok Sabha polls.

Another actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth floated the DMDK, started his political career with a bang, won his maiden Assembly polls, tied up with the AIADMK and emerged as the Leader of the Opposition, and was seen as an alternative, but his sudden ill-health forced him out of active politics, before he died in December 2023.

Several other film stars like the great Sivaji Ganesan, the all actor but turned out to be dwarf in politics, and actor-director K Bhagyaraj too have entered the political foray but could not sustain.

‘Thalapathy’ (General) as Vijay is called, the conference, being held ahead of Deepavali festival, is akin to a First Day First Show of a festival release of a ‘Thalapathy’ film, for his ardent fans.

But whether he will emulate icons like Legendary actors MGR and J Jayalalithaa (DMK Patriach and a record 13 time MLA and five time CM M Karunanidhi too is popular in Tamil film industry having penned scripts and dialogues for various films), and usher in the change remains to be seen as 2026 will provide the answer to it.