With Vijay fans association winning seats in Tamil Nadu polls, actor makes silent foray into politics

While the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party did dominate the rural elections held across nine newly-constituted districts of Tamil Nadu, prominent actor Vijay seems to have made a silent foray into politics, thanks to his fan club ‘Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’ (VMI). According to a report in the Indian Express, Vijay’s fan club clinched 115 of the 169 seats it competed in. The report adds that this was in fact the first time that Vijay had given consent to his office-bearers of his fan club to participate in the elections. The performance of TVMI comes as a surprise, at a time when Vijay has chosen to remain silent about his political plans. This comes amidst a public tussle with his father SA Chandrashekhar, who tried to form Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, a political society, using his son’s name without his permission. In fact, earlier, Vijay had filed a case against his father for using his pictures and other brand collateral for a movement called Vijay Makkal Iyakkam. However, as per News18, the recent victories by fans belong to the outfit called Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam has the approval and support of the actor himself. Bussy Anand, the general secretary of All India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, said that 13 of the 115 seats they had claimed were unopposed results. “Of the 115 winners, at least 45 are women. Otherwise, the candidates who contested under the banner of actor Vijay were from a cross-section of our society,” he was quoted as saying by the Indian Express. Anand went on to add that contesting the elections was not pre-planned, and discussions only began just ahead of the polls. “Suddenly, ahead of the polls, there were requests from many districts, seeking permission to contest. All of them were people who had been leading activities in their own localities on behalf of our movement.” “When we discussed it with Thalapathy [as Vijay is fondly called by his fans], he agreed,” Anand added. The campaigning was organised by using the group’s flag and a photo of Vijay, as Anand even travelled across districts to meet a much as candidates as possible. And in September this year, Chandrashekhar even clarified, saying that the outfit had been dissolved. Earlier, Vijay had even filed a case against his parents, urging them to avoid using his photo or name for pollical meetings or activities.