DMK hand in glove with BJP; voting for DMK is voting for BJP: Vijay

Positioning himself as the secular and pro-people alternative, actor-turned-neta and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay on Saturday targeted both the DMK and the BJP, warning the electorate of voting for the DMK as it would be a vote cast in favour of the BJP.

“We will never ever align with the fascist BJP unlike the DMK family which is hand in glove with the saffron party while putting up a public posturing of opposing it. They have an underground dealing with the BJP. Beware of this, people should think before exercising their franchise. For, voting for the DMK is voting for the BJP,” he said addressing a rally at Namakkal town, 368 km south west of Chennai.

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Resuming his public outreach, he did not spare the principal opposition AIADMK either. “Forgetting late Jayalalithaa’s words and straying away from her path, the AIADMK has formed an incompatible tie-up with the BJP and the alliance does not have the trust of the people. We won’t be like them,” he said and asked, “What good the BJP had done to Tamil Nadu? Have they abolished NEET? Have they released the funds withheld for Tamil Nadu’s education sector?”

“I am not raising these questions but the true supporters and cadre of AIADMK founder MGR (matinee icon and late Chief Minister MG Ramachandran),” he added to lure the AIADMK support base.

Turning his ire on the ruling DMK, Vijay referred to the sensational kidney theft allegedly involving a hospital run by a DMK legislator and said the illegal kidney racket targeted the poor women working in power looms. “Usurious moneylending is connected to this as the poor women caught in the trap are forced to sell their kidneys. The successive state governments, the present and the previous ones, have failed to uplift their economic conditions. They have kept them languishing in poverty,” he reasoned.

Then, listing out the unkept poll-promises of the Stalin government, Vijay asked, “Have you built the memorial manimantap for P Subbaroyan, late Chief Minister of erstwhile Madras Presidency (which comprised present day Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and parts of Odisha), who was instrumental in bringing proportional representation in education and government services through GO 1071, in 1927? The former Justice Party leader hailed from this district. Have you established cold storage for eggs in this district, known for egg production and a research centre for protecting eggs from viral and bacterial infection? Have you established foodgrain yards and purchased copra for producing coconut oil for sale through ration shops?”

He also reminded government servants, teachers and transport employees about the DMK government not keeping its word on reverting to the old pension scheme.

“Unlike the DMK, we won’t give false promises. We will promise what is necessary and provide them. Wherever I go in my campaign, people demand proper roads, schools with infrastructure, hospitals with doctors and safe drinking water and this is what everyone requires which are yet to be fulfilled. Critics accuse me of not saying anything new. Am I expected to hurl promises that CM sir dishes out? Am I expected to promise an IT park on Mars, a footpath to the USA, build a castle in the air and fly aeroplanes from houses?

Emboldened by the massive turnout at all his rallies, Vijay reiterated that the electoral fight in 2026 is between the TVK and the DMK, which he accused of engaging in loot under the mask of ideology.

“TVK Vs DMK’ was the resounding response of the crowd when he asked between whom the poll battle is.

“Even I thought otherwise. Now, with confidence, I am saying, we will accomplish. We will see to it. The next government is by the TVK. Victory is certain.” When he asked, “Are you trusting me so much… Oh so much?” the response was an overwhelming one. Vijay was garlanded by a drone and presented with a ‘sengol’.

Meanwhile, DMK Youth Wing secretary and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin posting his pictures with his pet dog on social media on Saturdays and stating that he takes off from his work to be with his canine, has sparked a debate online. He has been posting them since Vijay launched his outreach in Trichy on September 13. With Vijay carrying out his campaign on Saturdays, netizens have reacted that this was a dig at Vijay. The TVK leader, attracting massive crowds at his rallies, has rattled established parties, and the public discourse, too, is about whether crowds can turn into votes.