Tamil Nadu actor ‘Thalapathy' Vijay held the inaugural rally for the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's (TVK) this week, which saw hundreds of thousands of people flock to hear him outline his party’s vision.
Vijay, one of India’s highest paid actors and Tamil Nadu’s biggest celebrities, took to the stage donning a red and yellow scarf, and gave a fiery speech in which he took shots at the ruling BJP and Tamil Nadu’s DMK.
Tamil Nadu actor ‘Thalapathy' Vijay held the inaugural rally for the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's (TVK) this week, which saw hundreds of thousands of people flock to hear him outline his party’s vision.
Vijay, one of India’s highest paid actors and Tamil Nadu’s biggest celebrities, took to the stage donning a red and yellow scarf, and gave a fiery speech in which he took shots at the ruling BJP and Tamil Nadu’s DMK.
"In terms of ideology, we are not going to separate Dravidian Nationalism and Tamil Nationalism,” he told the crowd. “They are two eyes of this soil. We shouldn't shrink ourselves to any specific identity. Secular Social Justice ideologies are our ideology and we are going to act based on that.”
“When we took the principles of secular social justice, there were outcries. It will only get louder after this conclave. Our ideological opponents are those who divide people along lines of religion, caste, race, gender and wealth,” Vijay said, referring to the BJP.
“We can spot divisive forces easily. They are like a rogue elephant. But corrupt forces are harder to identify as they wear a mask and put on a show of ‘ideology.’ These corruption-ridden impostors are the ones ruling us now,” he added, referring to the DMK.
"Secular social justice ideologies will be our identity; democracy, equality, rational thinking, women's emancipation and a drugs-free Tamil Nadu (will be the focus)," he said. "In our political journey, women will play a key role."
On stage, Vijay was presented with a sword and copies of the Indian Constitution, Bhagavad Gita, Quran and the Bible.
The TVK intends to field candidates for all 234 seats of the state in the 2026 assembly elections and it remains to be seen what impact the blockbuster actor’s party will have.
Previously Vijay has vocally advocated for the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle. His wife Sangeetha Sornalingam is an Eelam Tamil. In 2008, in the midst of the Mullivaikkal Tamil genocide, Vijay took part in a one-day hunger strike where he said "let freedom dawn for Eelam Tamils. This plea extends beyond just my fans; it is an earnest appeal to anyone who carries the essence of Tamil identity within them.” He went on, “We are tiger cubs!”.
Read more here: 'We are tiger cubs!' - Vijay's support for the Tamil Eelam cause
