‘EPS exposed all the traitors. The DMK has given them political asylum. They are political orphans.’
IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Party’s supreme leader and Prime Minister Narendra D Modi at an election meeting in Tamil Nadu, April 10, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo
Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu will take place on April 23, 2026, and the usually bipolar battle between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna DMK has been given an added edge with the entry of actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
The ruling DMK and the AIADMK have been alternating in power for many decades, with former chief minister J Jayalalithaa breaking the pattern in 2016.
Key Points
- ‘Vijay will be a spoiler, not a winner’
- ‘DMK has to worry about Vijay, not us’
- ‘Freebies are part of life for those who need it. It is money that comes from the common man and goes back to them.’
The two sides have been buttressing their allies, with the AIADMK relying on its national partner Bharatiya Janata Party, itching to make a mark in the southern state.
As the Election Commission putting a date to the keenly awaited electoral battle, AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Satyan tells Rediff Senior Contributor A Ganesh Nadar, “I see Vijay as noise.”
Are you not worried about alienating the minority vote by allying with the BJP?
On June 6, 1999, in an article in the Murasoli, DMK chief M Karunanidhi had said that the BJP was not anti-minority. That applies to us also.
Do you think Vijay’s TVK will get minority votes and thus hurt the DMK? Can Vijay hurt the AIADMK too?
Speculation and assumptions are everybody’s freedom, but we will know only after the results.
Vijay has the tag of a minority but the minority has not declared their support to Vijay.
The DMK is supposed to be the custodian of the minorities, they might be worried.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections the DMK took an anti-BJP stand. That will not work for the assembly elections.
The DMK has to worry about Vijay’s TVK, not us.
Udaynidhi Stalin doesn’t have a following like Vijay.
Vijay will be a spoiler, not a winner.
IMAGE: Actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam founder Vijay during a TVK rally at Vikravandi in Villupuram, October 27, 2024. Photograph: Rediff Archives
Was your party open to a tie-up with Vijay?
That is my leader’s call. Our leaders clearly said there is no such tieup.
How do you see Vijay — as a disruptor, a potential rival, or a claimant for the top job?
I see Vijay as noise.
Do you think the anti-incumbency vote will be divided because of Vijay and Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi?
Every party has its own core voters. We have 35% always. The DMK also has its own core voters.
Only fence-sitters or cat on the wall voters might change. He (Vijay) might get that vote only. We have to see what impact that will have and how much it will impact which party.
IMAGE: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin at the DMK’s 12th state conference in Tiruchirappalli, March 9, 2026. Photograph: @mkstalin X/ANI Photo
Tamil Nadu has the habit of changing the government every election. Do you think that trend will continue?
Yes! Whenever the DMK is in power it always happens. Only Amma broke the trend in 2016 after 32 years.
The shortage of fuel in the current situation will go against the central government, that is headed by the BJP. How will you handle that fallout?
They are creating a panic mode, but it will not continue for long.
Iran will relent under pressure.
Your party president EPS spends a lot of time controlling his own party leaders, so how much time does he have to fight the elections?
He exposed all the traitors. The DMK has given them political asylum. They are political orphans.
Why are leaders leaving your party?
It is survival of the fittest. We have more than two crore and six lakh (2.6 million) as our cadre strength. You have to fight for your space.
Those who don’t stand a chance have to seek their option elsewhere.
IMAGE: AIADMK General Secretary and former Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. Photograph: @EPSTamilNadu/X
Do you find it easier to work with the BJP’s Tamil Nadu president Nainar Nagendran because he is a former AIADMK leader?
He has been in politics for a long time. He understands the political nuances that are involved very well. So we don’t have an issue working with him.
How will your party cadres work with AMMK workers because till now you considered them as rebels?
Nobody is a permanent friend or enemy in politics. Cadres go by their leader’s choices. Once the leaders decide the cadres will follow.
People feel that the freebie culture of both Dravidian parties will eventually bankrupt the state.
Freebies are part of life for those who need it. It is money that comes from the common man and goes back to them.
It is not for everybody. It is for those who need it. States will not go bankrupt because of them. Take the freebies as a capital investment. You will get your return on investment.
Many leaders the AIADMK shunned have made it to the NDA through the BJP. Are you upset that you will have to work alongside them?
It is the AIADMK that is heading the alliance. They have come to terms with that. There is no ideological difference. There is a common minimum programme to end dynast rule.
We know what to do and we will follow our strategy.
Who is leading the NDA in Tamil Nadu — BJP or the AIADMK?
The AIADMK led by EPS.
If the NDA wins, and it’s a big if, who will be the CM — AIADMK or BJP?
The AIADMK will form a government on its own majority. EPS will be the chief minister.
The perception is that the AIADMK was arm-twisted into an alliance with the BJP, since you had earlier broken off with them. Were you forced into the alliance?
Absolutely not. Even in 2021 they said the same thing, that we are being bullied. It is not true.
