CHENNAI: Actor-politician Vijay on Monday night (March 16) firmly shut down speculation over a possible tie-up with the BJP-led NDA, reiterating that his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), will go it alone in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections — a move that sets the stage for a four-cornered contest in the State. His declaration comes even as reports from a few days ago had suggested that TVK's talks with the BJP-led NDA were in their final stages.
According to a report in Daily Thanthi, Vijay’s declaration was made at a TVK executives’ meeting in Pattinapakkam, where he stated that the party has not held talks with any political party regarding an alliance and will go it alone in its maiden electoral battle.
"We are going to contest elections alone. Go to the constituencies and do field work. The list of candidates will be announced soon. I am also going to tour all over Tamil Nadu. We will definitely win the elections," Vijay said at the meeting, exuding confidence.
Vijay’s decision to contest independently sets the stage for a multi-cornered contest, with major alliances led by the DMK and the AIADMK-BJP combine already in place, while his entry as a standalone is expected to emerge as a key factor. The other party also going it alone is Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), paving the way for a four-cornered contest in the April 23 polls.
Efforts were reportedly made to convert this into a three-cornered fight by bringing TVK into the AIADMK-BJP alliance. The BJP, which TVK has often addressed as its 'ideological rival', is said to have offered around 60 seats and the Deputy Chief Minister’s post. However, TVK is learnt to have sought that Vijay be made Chief Minister for the first half of the term, a proposal the AIADMK leadership, including Edappadi K Palaniswami, did not reportedly accept.
Amid these developments, Vijay had travelled to Delhi a couple of days ago in connection with the CBI probe into the Karur stampede case, where his close aides reportedly also met BJP leaders, who are said to have indicated a split vote would favour the DMK and urged TVK to join the alliance.
Meanwhile, the TVK has begun finalising its candidates, with selections completed for around 60 constituencies and the remaining seats under process. The party is expected to release its full candidate list along with its election manifesto soon, as senior leaders prepare to step up field work across Tamil Nadu.
Actor Vijay is likely to contest from Perambur, while key functionaries such as Aadhav Arjuna (Villivakkam) and Anand (T Nagar) are also expected to be fielded.
Among other probable candidates are Rajmohan Arumugam (Egmore), Arul Prakasam (Saidapet), P Venkataraman (Mylapore), JCD Prabhakar (Thousand Lights), and Marie Wilson (RK Nagar), as per the Daily Thanthi report.
Party sources have also reportedly indicated that district secretaries may be given priority in several other constituencies as TVK looks to strengthen its organisational base alongside its electoral debut.
