News Tamil Nadu

TaVeKa Head Vijay Drops Tilak/Kungumam From His Pic In Party’s Letter Pad, TVK Slowly Morphing Into DVK?

September 20, 2024
The Commune

Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam leader actor Vijay has once again proved he is taking his party on the path of Dravidianist principles. In a recently released press note informing people about his upcoming conference/meeting at Vikravandi on 27 October 2024, Vijay’s letter pad that bears his photo, apart from other details, has something very obviously missing—the tilak—kungumam on his forehead.

Compare this with his very first press note announcing his entry into politics back in February 2024—the letter pad had a picture of the actor with a very visible tilak—kungumam on the forehead.

A few days ago, Vijay visited the Periyar Thidal – memorial of EV Ramasamy, also hailed as Periyar in TN on his birth anniversary (17 September) to pay floral tributes.

On his social media handle, Vijay posted an image of EVR with text saying, “He inculcated awareness among the people of Tamil Nadu who were kept captive by caste, religious dominance and superstitions; He who, through the self-liberating desire of all living beings, cut off the shackles of ups and downs; He inspired people to struggle with rationality; On the birth anniversary of social reformer, rationalist, Socrates of the South, Father Periyar, his emphasis on women’s rights, women’s education, women’s protection.

Equality, Equal Rights, Social Justice. Let’s commit to walking the path!”

Vijay has blatantly avoided wishing Hindus for Hindu festivals such as Tamil Puthandu, Vinayakar Chathurthi, and Krishna Jayanti. In contrast, he wished for Onam, Ramzan, Easter, and neutral special days such as Labour Day, Independence Day, etc.

TVK = DMK 2.0?

Actor Vijay entered into politics with the formation of his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in February 2024 and this move has often been compared to fellow actor and part-time politician Kamal Haasan and his party Makkal Needhi Maiam. This parallel is evident in the strategic moves and statements made by Vijay, which align closely with the ideology of the Dravidian movement and the DMK.

The political landscape of Tamil Nadu, gearing up for the 2026 state legislative assembly elections, will also be witness to yet another cine star namely Vijay, seemingly propelled by the DMK to echo their Dravidian ideology and potentially further divide the votes in the state.

This strategy echoes the historical move where Kamal Haasan entered politics at a time when actor Rajinikanth was contemplating starting his party, with Rajinikanth’s vision leaning towards spiritual politics. To counter this, the DMK strategically supported Kamal Haasan’s political debut to split the votes.

Notably, Vijay, who once proudly identified himself as “Joseph Vijay” and included the phrase “Jesus Saves” on his letterhead during his acting career, made notable changes when he entered TN politics. Upon starting his political party, he shortened his name to just “Vijay,” and the “Jesus Saves” message disappeared from his letterhead. Vijay’s letter pad also features a photo of him adorned with the sacred kungumam (vermillion). Many DMK members such as Jegathrakshakan, and Sekar Babu are often seen with religious marks on their foreheads too.

Actions like these indicate that Vijay is also set to walk the Dravidianist ideology path and further strengthen the claims that his party is only DMK 2.0. In that case, Vijay should consider renaming his party from Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to Dravida Vettri Kazhagam.

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