New Delhi:
In his first remarks after his victory in Tamil Nadu, actor-turned-politician Vijay has said he and his party were subjected to mockery and insults and stood “fearlessly” on the electoral battlefield to repay a debt to the people of the state.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the superstar reminded people, had predicted a miraculous election which would send tremors through the Indian political landscape. That prediction, he said, has been proven true “in every conceivable way”.
Making its electoral debut, the 51-year-old’s two-year-old party shocked the DMK and AIADMK – which had been alternating power between themselves for decades – by winning 108 seats in Tamil Nadu, just 10 short of the majority mark.
In a post on X on Tuesday, a day after the voters were counted, Vijay wrote in Tamil: “Since the very inception of our party, we have encountered far more people who viewed and spoke of us with mockery than those who did otherwise. Recognising that this is simply the nature of politics, we moved past it and pressed on. Relying on no one but the people themselves, we stood boldly and fearlessly on the electoral battlefield.”
“In the guise of ‘neutrality’ and under the cloak of ‘criticism’, we were gifted with nothing but masked insults and slanderous attacks. Yet, those for whom we came to politics to repay our debt of gratitude – our own people, the people of Tamil Nadu – have always held us close with the unconditional love of a mother; and they continue to do so to this day,” he said.
Expressing his gratitude to the people for the mandate, the TVK chief continued, “We had declared that this election – which has sent tremors through the entire Indian political landscape – would be a ‘miraculous election’. That prediction has now been proven true in every conceivable way.”
The TVK chief, who had earlier urged children to pester their parents to vote for the party, said the “little ones” influenced their entire families with their affection and were one of the key reasons for the stunning result.
‘Emotional Democracy’
The victory, Vijay insisted, was not of the TVK alone, but also of the “emotional democracy” in the hearts of the people of Tamil Nadu. Corruption and the “rule of money”, he claimed, had been defeated.
“Through this outcome, it has been proven-deeply and emphatically-that Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam is indeed the primary, monumental force driving change in this state… To my own people – the people of Tamil Nadu who have brought about a political victory for change that was once deemed utterly impossible and destined never to occur – I dedicate my lifelong gratitude… I also extend my love to those supporters who, even if they may have forgotten to vote for us in this election, are destined to love us even more deeply in the times to come,” he said.
