NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi’s strong support for actor-politician Vijay after delay in censor certification for Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief’s film ‘Jana Nayagan’ has set tongues wagging about a possible political realignment in poll-bound Tamil Nadu. ‘Jana Nayagan’, which is widely publicised as Vijay’s final film before his full-fledged entry into politics, was slated for a Pongal release on January 9. However, the film ran into last-minute hurdles after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) did not issue certification in time. Rallying behind Vijay, Rahul attacked the Centre and said the I&B ministry’s “attempt to block” ‘Jana Nayagan’ was an attack on Tamil culture. He also targeted the Prime Minister and said: “Mr Modi, you will never succeed in suppressing the voice of the Tamil people.” The TVK has been quick to acknowledge Rahul’s support as a “friendly gesture.”
While the Tamil Nadu Congress has denied any “political motive” behind Rahul’s gesture, the fact remains that this comes at a time when the grand-old-party’s ties with its old ally DMK has been tense over demands of power sharing.The DMK and the Congress have been partners in Tamil Nadu for long and have contested several elections together, but the grand-old party has not been a part of the DMK government in the state. The Congress wants that to change now. When Congress MP Manickam Tagore said the time has come to move beyond seat-sharing and initiate discussions on the sharing of power, he was echoing the sentiments of a section of the party. However, this “power sharing” proposal was nipped in the bud by the DMK. Ruling out any scope for coalition government, senior DMK leader and state minister I Periyasamy said: “There had never been a coalition government. The state had all along been helmed by the DMK on its own. There is no doubt about this stand of the party, there will be no coalition government and the chief minister is firm on this stand.”So, what should the Congress do? Continue with this arrangement that has been in place for years or chart a different course with a new ally?The politics of Tamil Nadu has traditionally been bipolar between two arch political rivals – the DMK and the AIADMK. However, 2026 could be different. There’s a third regional player in the fray. The entry of actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, fondly known as Thalapathy Vijay, has made the upcoming electoral contest interesting. Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has already made an impressive start giving jitters to the two established regional players. Vijay is confident that his TVK will script history in the elections – just as it had happened in the 1967 and 1977 assembly elections in the state. The DMK had won for the first time in 1967 while the AIADMK won elections a decade later.While the TVK has not opened its alliance cards, Vijay has made it clear several times that his party will not join hands with either the DMK or the BJP. The actor-politician had also said that if there were any alliance in the future, it would be led by the TVK and opposed to both the DMK and the BJP.It is in this context that Rahul Gandhi’s support for Vijay has raised interest. Already there have been speculations about a tie up after TVK’s national spokesperson Felix Gerald had called the Congress a “natural ally.” “The Congress and TVK are natural allies in terms of secularism and their stand against communalism. In that sense, we have always been natural partners. Rahul Gandhi and our leader are also friends,” Gerald had said.Adding fuel to this fire was senior Congress leader and head of the party’s Data Analytics Unit, Praveen Chakravarty, who later met TVK leader Vijay.Which brings us to the question: Is the Congress seriously considering a third front in Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Vijay or is the grand-old party using Vijay’s party to bargain “power sharing” deal and extra seats with the DMK?Perhaps, we may have some answers on Congress’s future course of action in the state after Rahul’s meeting with senior state leaders in Delhi on Jan 18 and 19.
