CHENNAI: With the deaths of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa and DMK chief M Karunanidhi, there is a perception of a power vacuum in Tamil Nadu. Enter the two superstars, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Meanwhile, even Nadigar Sangam general secretary Vishal has indicated he’d like his name on a ballot box someday. The one actor who does not appear a factor at the moment is strangely the one who had demonstrated quite recently that a new party could gain a foothold and challenge the dominance of the Dravidian parties: Vijayakanth. The ‘Captain’s’ Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) was launched in 2005 and entered the election field the very next year, capturing over 8 per cent of the vote share and one seat in the State Assembly (Vijayakanth’s in Vridhachalam).
Vijayakanth had laid the foundation for his entry into politics through a careful selection of films — even appealing to Tamil nationalist sentiments as ‘Captain Prabhakaran’ (1991) whose title references the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — and later through high-profile stint as president of the Nadigar Sangam. Former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran was himself a former president of the Sangam. At the Nadigar Sangam, Vijayakanth worked on paying off the body’s debts while taking up agitations related to the Cauvery issue. Meanwhile, he had carefully nurtured his fan club, even having a flag designed for it. This helped him launch his party in 2005, just a year ahead of Assembly polls.
Reliable sources close to the actor-politician noted that ahead of the party’s launch, Vijayakanth travelled through the state and engaged with grass-root supporters to gauge the strength he could command. He also formally surveyed members of his fan clubs. It is based on formal and informal surveys that he went ahead. In 2006, the DMDK astounded observers, first by fielding 232 candidates and second by garnering a staggering 8.38 per cent of the votes. Vijayakanth, by declaring that the only alliance the party would ever enter into would be with god and the people, had tapped into a need for an alternative to the AIADMK and DMK who had had alternating stints in power for decades.
The party followed this success with a creditable performance in the local body polls that year. This drew many established politicians, such as Panruti S Ramachandran, who had left the AIADMK, to the party. In the 2009 general election, although the party did not win a seat in Parliament, it secured a vote share of 10.3 per cent. At this point, the party and Vijayakanth were acknowledged as political factors in the state, and wooed by both the DMK and AIADMK.
In 2011, Vijayakanth chose to ally with the AIADMK for the Assembly elections. The party’s success in this election has been its high point to date. The party was given 41 seats and won 29. Vijayakanth became leader of the party with the second highest number of seats in Assembly — the DMK was reduced to a mere 23. However, shortly after this, things began to go wrong. Reportedly irked by a slight, the actor-politician broke the alliance with the AIADMK. At the same time, his very act of allying with one of the Dravidian parties had affected his appeal among the anti-Dravidian party voters, and as a result the party made little impact on the local body elections that year. Despite this, it was sought after by the BJP, Congress and DMK in the 2014 general election season.
Vijayakanth went with the BJP and got 14 out of 39 seats in the State to little effect despite the Modi wave. In 2016, the party, undeterred by its diminishing vote share, became a part of the People Welfare Front alliance and was allotted 104 seats for the assembly polls. Vijayakanth was declared the alliance’s CM candidate of the alliance. But, the party, ended up garnering just 2.39 per cent of votes with even Vijayakanth failing to get a seat in the House.
Nonetheless, this May, Vijayakanth told Express that his party would go it alone in the forthcoming 2019 parliament general election. The optimism may be restricted to the ‘Captain’. The party’s decline in fortunes and Vijayakanth’s own decisions have led to a virtual exodus of workers.
One former organising secretary told Express, on condition of anonymity, “Around 75 per cent district secretaries of the party, who were there when the party launched, have left. And around 80 per cent of candidates who have contested in polls have either left or stayed away.”
Indeed, workers argue that as the party succeeded, Vijayakanth became more and more inaccessible. Further, he paid no heed to the wishes of the workers, going against their call for an alliance with the DMK in 2016 to join the PWF. It is said his stubborn nature also alienated the senior politicians who had originally been drawn to the party, even as the influence of the wife Premalatha reportedly increased.
“In 2006, Vijayakanth gave all the MLA tickets only for members of fan associations and functionaries regardless of their economic background. But, later he gave MP tickets to affluent newcomers under the influence of family members. On seeing that, many traditional Vijayakanth fans stayed out of party work. Slowly, the party lost ground among the cadre. Now, no one can directly meet Vijayakanth. All the party affairs are being decided only by his family members,” charged one MLA candidate.
Meanwhile, the ailing actor-politician’s health has also played a role. Due to his health, he has been unable to engage with cadre. Workers hope that the party will return to form once Vijayakanth’s health improves. Meanwhile, a section of the party refutes allegations of the star’s family having too much say in DMDK affairs. These charges will vanish once he starts touring again, they said. Political observer Tharasu Shyam said, “DMDK’s future is entirely dependent on the performance of Vijayakanth as it is a personality-centric party like MGR’s AIADMK. Hence, if Vijayakanth is able to be more involved, the party will regain its old sheen.”