TIRUCHY: In his first speech after taking oath as Chief Minister on Sunday, TVK president C Joseph Vijay made a special mention of children who persuaded their parents to vote for his party, affectionately calling them his “Kutty Nanba Nanbis” who fondly refer to him as “Vijay Mama”.
The remark has once again brought into focus the growing influence of children in shaping political choices within Tamil Nadu households.
During the polls, several booths across the state saw parents and grandparents arriving with children dressed in Vijay-inspired campaign attire, beige or khaki trousers paired with white shirts resembling the actor-turned-politician’s campaign look.
Social media platforms were also flooded with videos of children urging family members to vote for Vijay. Some parents even admitted that they had voted for TVK at the insistence of their children despite being long-time supporters of the Dravidian majors.
S Selvamani, psychologist and director of an NGO running the Happy Schooling Programme in Madurai Corporation schools, said the trend carried both positive and negative implications.
C Ramasubramanian, psychiatrist and founder of MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, said emotional attachment to children increasingly influences major decisions, including voting. “People are now placing greater importance on emotional intelligence,” he observed.
Geetha Annadurai, psychologist with the District Mental Health Programme in Tiruchy, attributed the phenomenon partly to social media algorithms and changing family structures. “Most families today have only one or two children, leading to stronger emotional attachment,” she said.
She stressed the need for civic and political awareness from an early age.
Political observers note that the phenomenon is not entirely new to Tamil Nadu politics. C Rajeshwari, translator and writer on former CM MGR, said the trend could be traced back to MGR’s enduring appeal among children and family audiences through cinema. She noted that Vijay, too, cultivated a similar image in his films, often portraying characters admired by younger viewers.
