TVK open to alliances only if Vijay is CM face, signals shift in Tamil Nadu poll strategy

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor Vijay

• TVK open to alliances if Vijay is projected as chief ministerial candidate
• Party maintains hostility toward DMK, calls it principal adversary
• TVK sees Congress as a "natural ally" but notes internal hurdles to partnership

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Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has signalled a significant shift in its electoral positioning in Tamil Nadu, indicating that it is willing to partner with any political party ahead of the Assembly elections -- on one clear condition: its founder and leader Vijay must be projected as the chief ministerial candidate.

The declaration has been read both as an assertion of the party’s ambitions and as a message to potential allies, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), amid talk of backchannel discussions.

According to News18, sources familiar with the party’s thinking say TVK is focused on leading any alliance it joins, rather than playing a junior role.

The insistence on Vijay as the CM face is central to this strategy. This stance comes months after the party publicly ruled out alliances with both the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the BJP, making the current openness a notable departure from its earlier position.

The party’s evolving stand has also revived speculation around its relations with national parties. Only days ago, TVK leaders appeared to open the door to a possible understanding with the Congress, describing the two as “natural allies in terms of secularism and their stand against communalism”.

This followed earlier assertions that the party would contest alone, without aligning with any major political formation.

Despite this apparent flexibility, TVK’s hostility toward the DMK has remained consistent. The party has repeatedly portrayed the ruling Dravidian major as its principal political adversary. Vijay himself recently accused the DMK government of enabling the BJP’s growth in the state, saying it had allowed the “lotus (the BJP’s symbol) to bloom” in Tamil Nadu -- a pointed attack on Chief Minister MK Stalin.

The roots of TVK’s current approach lie in statements made late last year. In November, senior leader Arun Raj categorically ruled out alliances with both the DMK and the BJP. “We will not form an alliance with BJP. From Day 1, we are clear that our political enemy is the DMK and the ideological enemy is the BJP. Any other party that accepts Vijay as CM candidate can ally with us,” he said.

Those remarks effectively shut the door on tie-ups with formations aligned to either of the two major rivals, including the AIADMK, which has struggled to resolve its own differences with the BJP.

TVK was launched in October 2024, with Vijay positioning it as a fresh alternative to the entrenched Dravidian parties. Since then, the party has consistently projected confidence that Tamil Nadu’s political landscape is on the cusp of change, one that will prominently feature Vijay after the elections.

That confidence, however, has been tested by recent controversies, including the Karur stampede that claimed 41 lives and injured more than 60 people -- an incident that has cast a shadow over the actor-politician’s growing political footprint.

Interest in TVK has also come from unexpected quarters. Former chief minister O Panneerselvam’s AIADMTUMK faction has reportedly shown considerable enthusiasm about working with the fledgling party, though no formal arrangement has been announced.

On the Congress front, TVK’s national spokesperson Felix Gerald shared the party’s thinking. He reportedly pointed to shared ideological ground, saying the Congress and TVK were “natural allies in terms of secularism and their stand against communalism”. At the same time, he struck a cautious note, acknowledging internal hurdles. Gerald said Vijay and Rahul Gandhi are friends, but added that “it is not all smooth sailing", according to NDTV.

He also trained his criticism on the state Congress leadership. “There are many possibilities for the Congress and TVK to ally. However, as I see it, the personal interests, possibly business or financial interests, of the current Tamil Nadu Congress committee leadership, may be preventing them from initiating a dialogue with TVK,” he was quoted as saying.