'Even if they align with the TVK now, I don't think the AIADMK leadership will completely surrender to the dominance of Vijay.'
IMAGE: Vijay and his TVK party has stunned political pundits by taking the lead in the Tamil Nadu assembly election. Photograph: ANI/X
Key Points
- 'The DMK did not see what is coming. Otherwise, they would not have acted the way they did with their alliance partners.'
- 'How can you call it a vote for change when you don't know anything about the change you aspire for?'
- 'Vijay is some kind of a mythical phenomenon. He is unapproachable, inaccessible and unanswerable.'
- 'This will have larger implications in the Indian Republic itself when we are facing very serious issues like delimitation. If you are going to have a party and leader who has not talked about any issue, who will take up these issues?'
Vijay has made a superstar entry into politics by taking a historic lead in the Tamil Nadu assembly election, proving every single political expert wrong.
It seems hundreds and thousands of young people who crowded around his vehicle voted for him. Perhaps, influencing the elders in the family also to do so.
Every exit poll except one gave the DMK front an edge but the DMK front at the moment of writing is in third position behind the AIADMK front.
Dr Ramu Manivannan, former head of the department of politics and public administration, University of Madras, told Rediff before polling that the DMK front had an edge and that Vijay would not create a major impact.
"I feel it is a very big setback for politics. I will even go on to say Tamil Nadu goes behind the political and ideological time clock," Dr Manivannan tells Rediff's Shobha Warrier after the results flowed in.
When we spoke, you did not give Vijay any chance in this election. But like a super hit debut movie, he has made a super hit political debut...
Yes, right now he is on the top of the table. It is clear that there was a desire among people for a change.
But the type of change people are desiring is going to be a challenge. When you look at the ground situation, I don't think people looked at ideology or political stability or economy or Centre-state relations while wanting a change. It appears they just wanted a change.
And it is very paradoxical.
Tamil Nadu had never voted like this, a popular cinema star coming and winning an election.
Do you feel people were so enamoured of Vijay, the successful film star that they forgot about ideology and other political issues?
I think so. There is a combination of factors also. There is a kind of anger and dissatisfaction against the ruling party. But that will not turn into making a cinema star the chief minister or a potential chief minister candidate.
But the fascination or attraction for a cinema star has transformed into people voting for the party he has just formed.
Unfortunately, people have not looked at the serious issues of governance.
For example, do we know the names of any ten candidates of the TVK who are known for something distinctive?
How can you call it a vote for change when you don't know anything about the change you aspire for?
IMAGE: Dravida Munnetra Kazagham leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin speaks at the Labour Day celebrations in Chennai, May 1, 2026. Photograph: @mkstalin X/ANI Photo
The TVK has taken votes from the DMK and not from the AIADMK. Does that mean the anger against the DMK was so much and nobody saw it coming?
It is a good point. It was generally said that TVK would eat into the votes of AIADMK and the NTK (Seeman's party). But the AIADMK is doing reasonably well up to the 3rd or 4th round.
The party that is hit is the DMK. Certainly, there is anger against the DMK.
I feel the DMK did not see what is coming. Otherwise, they would not have acted the way they did with their alliance partners. Distribution of seats has not gone well within the alliance. For example, there was huge discontentment within the VCK, the Communist party.
Even with the Congress...
Yes, even with the Congress. So, the DMK did not go as a united, committed alliance into the elections. There were many fissures within the alliance and they came to the fore in the results.
IMAGE: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami campaigns for the assembly elections in Chennai, April 8, 2026. Photograph: @EPSTamilNadu X/ANI Photo
Vijay's appeal was among the young voters. The parallel you can see in the DMK is Udhayanidhi Stalin but people saw his rise as nepotism and dynastic politics.
While they looked at Vijay as a person who entered politics with no godfather..
Comparison between Vijay and Udhayanidhi is secondary because Stalin is still the leader of the DMK.
A young leader coming and challenging a party like the DMK is important.
Yes, there is an anger against all Dravidian parties, the BJP and the Congress where family politics, nepotism and dynastic politics rule.
I can compare Vijay's entry to that of AAP but the major difference is that AAP worked on people's issues when they came to electoral politics.
But here, we have not seen Vijay or his party taking a stance on any issue affecting the state or on Centre-state relations.
You need to talk about issues in electoral politics.
I feel it is a very big setback for politics. I will even go on to say Tamil Nadu goes behind the political and ideological time clock.
We have moved behind with this one election.
This will have larger implications in the Indian Republic itself when we are facing very serious issues like delimitation. If you are going to have a party and leader who has not talked about any issue, who will take up these issues?
IMAGE: Early trends show Vijay's TVK leading in the Tamil Nadu polls. Photograph: ANI/X
Can you compare the massive victory Jayalalithaa had in 1993 with Vijay's entry into politics in this election?
No. Jayalalithaa was already trained and groomed in politics by MGR. She was a stronger political leader then. She fought a battle within the party to emerge as the leader.
On the other hand, Vijay emerged on the wave of young people and the social media running the election asking for change.
Just look at how many days and how many hours he campaigned.
He never faced the media or answered any questions...
Yes, he never meets the press. He is some kind of a mythical phenomenon. He is unapproachable, inaccessible and unanswerable.
There is something seriously wrong with the political system.
This is a very big challenge for Tamil Nadu and a very big setback for Tamil Nadu.
IMAGE: A DMK worker breaks down as the party is in a distant third position as per early trends. Photograph: ANI/X
Right now, it appears Tamil Nadu is heading for a hung assembly. If that is the case, do you see AIADMK splitting and joining Vijay?
Vijay had said the DMK was his political enemy and the BJP, his ideological enemy.
I don't think a split will happen. If the AIADMK can align with the BJP, anything can happen.
But we will soon have another election in Tamil Nadu. I can say that much.
Even if they align with the TVK now, I don't think the AIADMK leadership will completely surrender to the dominance of Vijay.
Then, we will see the Vijay factor in actual governance.
You cannot compare this with say, the Assam students movement where students and people were politically engaged fighting for the rights of the state and people and larger and deeper political issues.
So, we can't undermine the other movements led by young people by comparing them with that of Vijay.
Here, what we see was people with no experience in politics talking about change.
For you, is the result more disappointing than shocking?
It is very disappointing. I compare this to the American election when Trump got elected. Now, the US is paying the price, and the world is paying the price.
It is the money power and the social media power at work.
I feel very let down by the people. There is a saying in Tamil Arasiyil oru sakkidai, which means politics is gutter. I feel people stood in sakkidai and voted for a government.
The state has to recoup to the new politics of no ideology and no direction.
The vote bank of Vijay is people with no politics.
I am not undermining lack of experience. I want a vision for the state. But you have a leader who does not come for a campaign, you have a leader who believes in mob psyche.
IMAGE: Counting of votes cast through EVMs at a counting centre in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. Photograph: ANI/X
In Tamil Nadu, when big stars like Kamal Haasan and Sivaji Ganesan and even Vijayakanth did not succeed in politics, what made Vijay a huge success in his first election?
Nobody was backed by the BJP even by a shadow like Vijay.
The strategy of the RSS and the BJP is that if they can't defeat the DMK through the AIADMK, there has to be a third force. They have worked on this very systematically.
So, I don't think this is just an accident and people's desire.
What happens now is Tamil Nadu completely loses its voice in national politics. I feel Tamil Nadu has been silenced.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff