Tamil Nadu: Seeman Must Be Really Worried As Vijay Is Going After His Votes

Tamil film actor Vijay launched the flag and song of his political party, the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), earlier today (22 August). 

His entry into politics has been keenly watched and has thus been a matter of many a debate. The question on everyone’s mind has been how his arrival could impact political arithmetic in the times to come. 

While it can be argued that Vijay still doesn’t look very serious given that his political utterances have been very few — with the only highlight being his speech against NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test), the implications for the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) headed by Seeman, could be significant.

Both the parties have a similar voter base, ie, of youth and those who want a ‘change’ from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which have dominated the state for decades. 

While in recent times there was talk of an alliance being stitched by the NTK, TVK and the AIADMK, it does not seem likely at the moment.

A look at the numbers has shown that the rumoured transfer of AIADMK votes to the NTK (as the former was not contesting) in the Vikravandi bypoll also did not happen. The NTK finished third with 5.4 per cent votes.

He too knows this and has been doing a number of felicitation programmes for board exam toppers. While the usual method is to felicitate toppers at a district level, he chose toppers from each of the 234 assembly constituencies. This was seen by many as a silent but politically calculated move.

What is also not good for Seeman is the timing of Vijay’s entry. It comes soon after his party’s performance reached its historic high, ie, a vote share of over 8 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The NTK even finished third in some seats, pushing the AIADMK to the fourth spot.

In the future, the ‘young/new leader’ space is going to get even more crowded as the DMK too is sooner than later likely to make Udhayanidhi Stalin as deputy chief minister and project him as the next leader, as the party plans the succession to Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Seeman, thus has a lot to be worried about. Gone are the days when he could easily portray himself as the only party that could represent change.

Vijay is coming for that space, even if his anti-NEET stance has made him look no different from others, and the Bharatiya Janata Party fighting without the AIADMK under K Annamalai has also become a formidable contender.

Also Read: Tamil Superstar Vijay’s Political Act Still Looks Like An Unimpressive Cameo Role