Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay criticised the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government as an 'evil force' on Thursday, urging voters to remove it from power in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly election.
Speaking at a public meeting in Tiruchirappalli following his nomination filing as the party candidate from Tiruchirappalli East, Vijay accused the DMK of failing to deliver on its election promises made in 2021.
He also paid tribute by garlanding a statue of former Chief Minister and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran.
“This evil force, DMK, which cannot even ensure your safety or provide basic facilities, what should we do with it? Shall we throw it out?” Vijay said.
He assured voters he would not make false promises like Chief Minister MK Stalin, stating, “You said that MK Stalin would provide a subsidy of Rs 100 per cylinder, what happened to that? You said the NEET exam would be cancelled. What happened to that? All the things that Stalin could not actually implement were given as false promises. He has now come up with yet another false promise. Unlike Stalin, I will not make false promises. We will understand the needs of the people and act accordingly.”
Vijay also criticised both the Central and State governments for the reported shortage of commercial LPG cylinders amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. “How is the gas issue now? Has everything been resolved? Due to the gas shortage, how many problems have arisen? How many tea shops have shut down? How many hotels have closed? If they had been more cautious and taken preventive measures, could the gas shortage have been controlled? Only two people (the Union and the state government) are responsible for the gas shortage,” he said.
Vijay is contesting from two seats, Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East, against DMK incumbents RD Sekar and Inigo S Irudayaraj, respectively. The Perambur constituency was a CPI(M) stronghold until 2016, and RD Sekar has held the seat since winning the 2019 bypolls.
TVK's manifesto includes promises to establish “anti-drug protection zones” and provide monthly financial assistance to students, offering Rs 4,000 for graduates and Rs 2,000 for diploma holders.
Tamil Nadu will hold assembly elections in a single phase on April 23 across 234 constituencies, with vote counting scheduled for May 4. The election is expected to be primarily contested between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance and the NDA led by AIADMK, with Vijay aiming to position the TVK as a significant third contender.