Smaller political parties are watching actor Vijay’s next move after he began making overt manoeuvres such as organising an event to felicitate State-level student toppers and urging them ‘not to take cash and vote’ in elections.
Recently when asked to comment on Vijay’s speech, Mr. Thirumavalavan bluntly said the incessant discussion about his political plunge must not stand in the way of discussions on more serious issues such as the ongoing crisis in Manipur and other topics of national importance. He urged the media to be responsible.
Similarly, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss recently urged actor Vijay to ‘walk the talk’, asking whether he would be ready to follow the path and ideology laid down by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, Dr. Ambedkar and Kamaraj, rather than just dropping their names in his speeches.
Many leaders are of the view that political parties with smaller vote banks – NTK, PMK, VCK, BJP and others – than the two big Dravidian parties and those who hope to attract young voters, especially first-time voters, to their party and ideology, will find it a challenge to compete with actor Vijay’s charisma in the political market place since he already commands a huge, significantly young, fan base.
However, senior figures in these parties also firmly believe that actor Rajinikanth’s last minute withdrawal after decades of building suspense over his political plunge, has caused a ‘fatigue’ among voters about actors in politics.
Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman, who too commands the support of a sizeable chunk of young voters, had earlier opposed actor Rajinikanth’s political entry on the basis of his non-Tamil identity. He has also underlined on several instances that stardom alone wasn’t enough for an actor, who is also an aspiring politician, and had urged them to make their opinions on crucial social issues as and when it was required.
On the issue, NTK treasurer Ravanan, said that actor Vijay has not articulated a well-defined ideology and it would be ‘very difficult’ to keep young people with him for long.
“The other political parties such as BJP, VCK, PMK and ours, NTK, who are working to attract the young voters, have well-defined party ideology and views on various political issues. Vijay has not articulated any views so far. Will he follow the ideology putforth by Periyar, Dr. Ambedkar and Kamarajar? He will be a formidable force for one election, but beyond that, he has to articulate a coherent ideology and policy. And he has to enter politics soon. If he keeps delaying it, he will be at a disadvantage,” he said.
A senior political leader, who contested and lost in the recent Assembly elections, said that elections in the modern era have become highly competitive and expensive, and this would deter any actor with a lucrative career from entering politics.
“People must have realised by now that actors say or do something political before the release of their films. This is what we have seen Rajinikanth do. Just making statements in events is not enough. MGR was in active politics throughout…even while he was an actor. It is a waste of time to discuss about Vijay until he comes out with his party’s name, ideology,” he said.
