Addressing his maiden political public meeting, actor-turned-politician Vijay minced no words in taking on both the BJP and the ruling DMK — without directly naming them — at the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) first state conference in Vikravandi.
In his 46-minute speech, Vijay eschewed the traditions of Tamil political oratory and employed a youth-friendly mix of Tamil and English to outline his party’s political ideology and goals.
Identifying those destroying the country through divisive politics as his ideological opponents (BJP), he said those exploiting the people by using terms like ‘Dravidian model governance’ while using icons such as Periyar and Anna for their personal gains are his political opponents.
“We can spot divisive forces easily — they’re like a rogue elephant. But corrupt forces are harder to identify as they wear a mask and put on a garb of ‘ideology’. These corruption-ridden impostors are the ones ruling us now,” he said.
Referring to the DMK’s frequent description of the Prime Minister Modi government as fascist, Vijay asked, “If they are fascists, then what are you? Calling an anti-people government a ‘Dravidian model government’ is just another way of deceiving people.
Speaking to a rapt audience of around 5-6 lakh people from within and outside the state, Vijay said Dravidian thought and Tamil nationalism would be the two eyes of the party.
While he listed Periyar E V Ramaswamy, Dr Ambedkar and K Kamaraj as among the party’s five ideological leaders, he said TVK does not believe in atheism. Pointing to Velu Nachiar and Anjalai Ammal, he claimed, “We are the first party to position women as ideological leaders.”
TVK will operate on secular principles, Vijay said, underscoring women’s development, dissemination of a rational attitude, two-language policy, state autonomy, preservation of natural resources, development sensitive to climate change and an addiction-free Tamil Nadu, among others, as the party’s goals.
If the party wins in the 2026 Assembly polls, Vijay said it would share power with those willing to travel with them.