A young lad from the temple town of Madurai came to try his fortunes in Kollywood three decades ago. Cast as villain initially, he had to wait for his time, and once he touched stardom there was no looking back. Vijayakanth Naidu aka ‘Captain’ as he is called by admirers, after his blockbuster ‘Captain Prabhakaran’ turned to politics in 2005. After nine years in politics Captain’s party DMDK has emerged as a third force in the state’s political firmament, dethroning the Congress, but Vijayakanth is at political crossroads.
The DMDK is unable to erase the tag that it is a party which ‘makes or mars the chances of others’. With the Lok Sabha polls round the corner, Vijayakanth’s predicament has become a more unenviable one. And he alone is responsible for inviting this upon himself.
The actor-turned neta is keeping everyone guessing on the alliance for the LS polls. While Jayalalithaa is least interested in entertaining him, he could not join hands with the DMK as that would estrange his support base. Tyeing-up up with the Congress without the DMK would not be a viable proposition either.
The DMDK made a mark in the first Assembly polls in 2006 by garnering over 8 per cent of the popular votes. The 2011 Assembly election proved to be a watershed for the party. As part of the AIADMK-led alliance, the DMDK secured 29 out of the 41 seats it had contested and Vijayakanth became the Leader of the Opposition. The October 2011 civic poll, in which the AIADMK had dumped the alliance, also witnessed the party marginally improving its popular vote share, drawing into its fold Congress voters and a section of the traditional MGR supporters.
Yet, Vijayakanth appears to be incapable of keeping his flock intact. Of the 29 DMDK legislators, seven have joined the rebel ranks.
Recently, Rahul Gandhi greeted Vijayakanth on his birthday and this has enlivened the hopes of the rank and file. Now, which way Captain steers his ship remains to be seen. So far, he has not shown the maturity to sail his ship against the current. Will he be able to do it now?