TIRUCHY: The rambunctious crowd and fan frenzy at Vijay’s rallies have generated enough buzz for Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, but the actor-politician’s restricted physical presence on the ground, lack of strong local leaders, paucity of funds, and weak grassroots network are creating challenges for his party candidates in turning that popularity into votes.
During a recent roadshow in Tiruchy West, only a campaign van, two autorickshaws, some kids with whistles, a few women, and some men on bikes accompanied the TVK candidate’s convoy. In nearby Woraiyur, the party’s door-to-door outreach was led by small clusters of students and women. Even loyalists admit that these modest local efforts fail to match the massive, high-energy crowds, typical of Vijay’s major public appearances.
With the star restricting himself to select appearances, the party has to rely on surrogate campaign methods. In Kumbakonam, an AI-generated hologram of the actor-politician was deployed to draw crowds. In other places, cut-outs (Thiruverumbur) and lookalikes (Kolathur) were used to sustain the visibility. But such campaigns have their limitations.
“In most parties, top leaders share the stage with candidates, introduce them by name, and build local recognition. Here, even during Vijay’s recent visit that drew large crowds, candidates were not introduced to the voters,” said a party functionary from Manapparai.
Across districts, candidates, many of them first-timers, say their campaigns are largely self-funded. Small daily contribution from a handful of supporters is helping them pull through.”We don’t have big money like other parties,” said a party functionary in Karur, summing up the campaign reality of TVK.
A party functionary at Sengulam in Tiruchy said local workers are pooling in money to cover basic expenses like event arrangement and music. “We cannot afford to spend big. There is no structured funding. We are relying on Vijay’s popularity to fetch at least one vote per household,” he said. In Karur, campaign activities are being sustained through small daily contributions of Rs 300- Rs 500 from a few supporters.
Only about 10-15 people are consistently working on the ground. Sources said a handful of volunteers have been canvassing for past 15 days for V P Mathiyalagan in Karur using planned route maps. “Most of us are new to politics. We are learning. We will do better in the next election,” a local functionary added. While the logistical nightmare of managing crowds and security makes it difficult for Vijay to hold enough physical meetings, allegation of favouritism in ticket allocation is dampening cadre morale.
In Madurai, party functionary S R Thangapandi noted a lack of clarity regarding Vijay’s campaign plans for the region – a sentiment echoed across central and delta districts. Similarly, Krishnagiri candidate P Mukundhan acknowledged that the actor-turned-politician will not be able to visit every constituency.
In Coimbatore, TVK candidates said their campaign gained traction only in the final phase. They cite weak coordination, limited funding and a largely inexperienced pool of candidates for the late start.
Party sources in Villupuram and Vellore also lament about funding issues which is affecting their campaign reach. M Hemavarshini (30), a resident of Kamban Nagar in Villupuram, said, “I follow Vijay’s campaign on social media, but the local candidate is not familiar.”
Even in Tiruchy East, where Vijay is contesting, local coordination issues persist, including gaps in district-level leadership. Party leader Aadhav Arjuna has announced cadre training, but its impact is yet to be seen.
Former TVK functionary A R Basha, who recently defected to DMK, attributed his exit to the party’s lack of preparation. He claimed that TVK’s failure to train cadres or build a booth-level organisational structure has left the party struggling.
(With inputs from Jayalakshmi Ramanujam @Madurai, R Kirubakaran @ Coimbatore, S Sivaguru @Krishnagiri, Bagalavan Perier B @ Cudddalore, Krithika Srinivasan @ Villupuram, Nimisha S Pradeep @ Vellore)