NEW DELHI: Actor-turned-politician Vijay on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, branding it an “evil force” and pitching his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), as a “pure force” ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Addressing a large public meeting in Erode, Vijay framed the coming political battle as a direct contest between the two, declaring that “the contest is now only between the thooya sakthi TVK and theeya sakthi DMK”.The rally marked Vijay’s first major public outreach in Tamil Nadu since the September 27 Karur stampede, in which at least 41 people were killed and over 100 injured during a TVK event. Following the tragedy, Vijay had limited his appearances to a closed-door meeting in Kancheepuram and a rally in neighbouring Puducherry. The Erode meeting therefore drew heightened political and public attention.Invoking the legacy of former chief ministers M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, Vijay said they had often used the phrase “theeya sakthi” to describe the DMK. He added that leaders such as C N Annadurai and MGR were an inspiration for all and not the property of any single party, rejecting criticism over his references to them.Vijay also alleged that “vested interests” were running a smear campaign against him. “They do not understand that I have the people’s trust, built over 33 years,” he said, expressing confidence that such efforts would fail.Training his guns on the DMK government, Vijay accused it of neglecting key issues such as law and order and agriculture, claiming the state administration showed little interest in farmers’ concerns.The rally also underlined TVK’s organisational push ahead of future elections, with senior former AIADMK leader K A Sengottaiyan sharing the stage. Sengottaiyan, who recently joined TVK, has been appointed Chief Coordinator of the party’s high-level executive committee and given charge of western districts, a move party sources say strengthens TVK’s grassroots presence.Meanwhile, the Karur stampede continues to cast a shadow. The Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe into the incident, to be monitored by a three-member committee headed by former judge Justice Ajay Rastogi, following a plea by TVK seeking an impartial investigation.