Before the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election, leaders of the CPI(M) repeatedly dismissed actor-politician Vijay and his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), as politically irrelevant, arguing that votes cast for him would be “wasted” and would only help split the anti-BJP vote.
Now, following an election that produced a fractured Assembly, both CPI and CPI(M) have extended external support to TVK, helping Vijay move closer to the majority mark required to form the government – a sharp reversal from their campaign-time attacks.
A campaign speech by CPI(M) Tamil Nadu State Committee Secretary P. Shanmugam, which is now being widely circulated again on social media, showed the Left party’s earlier position on Vijay in stark terms.
During a campaign, he said, “A new party called Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has not emerged as a real force in Tamil Nadu. He says that the contest is between him and the DMK. But the DMK has built a massive alliance with more than 20 parties, while he is standing alone. In fact, right from the time he started the party, he offered a share in power and a share in governance. He said, ‘If you join me, I will give you a share in government, a share in authority.’ But even after Vijay made such offers, not even small parties have gone with him so far. Why has no one joined him? Even after he said there would be a share in power and authority, if nobody went with him, what does that mean? It means he cannot win. First he himself has to win before he can give others a share. When there is doubt about whether he can even win, how can he give a share to others, and how can others trust that and join him? That is exactly why no party has gone with Vijay. Therefore, apart from splitting votes, Vijay’s political activity will achieve nothing. I want to bring to the attention of the people of Tamil Nadu that this party will not be able to win even a single seat in this election. So, a vote for NOTA and a vote for Vijay are the same. Just as a vote for NOTA is of no use, a vote cast for Vijay too will go without any value. In Tamil Nadu, the contest is only between two fronts. One is the secular progressive alliance led by the DMK. The other is the BJP-AIADMK alliance. These are the only two fronts standing in the electoral field in Tamil Nadu today, and the contest is taking place only between them. Today, some youngsters and children from our homes are trying to vote for this new party simply because it is new. I want to appeal to them with affection: your vote should help create the possibility of forming a new government. You must think deeply about what kind of candidate this is, what he will do if elected, and what kind of person should represent your constituency, and then cast your vote.”
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However, after the election produced a hung Assembly and TVK emerged as the single largest party without crossing the majority mark on its own, both CPI and CPI(M) announced support for Vijay to enable government formation.
The two Left parties ‘clarified’ that their backing was limited to external support for forming the government and did not amount to a formal political alliance or participation in the cabinet.
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