How Vijay Ended Tamil Nadu’s 60-Year Dravidian Monopoly | Dorab R. Sopariwala | DeKoder Snippets

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]Tamil Nadu's classified under seismic zone three indicating a moderate risk of on Monday May 4th.

[00:00:08]It was a seismic zone six in Tamil Nadu with a shock measuring 700 on the scale with politics as it was known in Tamil Nadu for many decades was shattered by newcomer in Tamil Nadu politics.

[00:00:23]Not since NT Rama Rao in 1983 has a South Indian state seen such a cataclysmic shift in power.

[00:00:31]NTR riding his Chaitanya Ratham broke a Congress monopoly in Andhra Pradesh that had lasted uninterrupted for 30 years since 1953.

[00:00:44]The Dravidian monopoly in Tamil Nadu had lasted twice as long almost 60 years since CN Annadurai became the Chief Minister of Madras and then Tamil Nadu in 1967.

[00:00:57]Tamil Nadu had many star politicians, actors, playwrights, etc. such as Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Sivaji Ganesan, Vijayakanth who all made forays into politics without joining the two Dravidian behemoths, but none of them succeeded until now.

[00:01:19]It is not that Vijay is a meteor.

[00:01:21]Though just 50 now, he has been around a long time.

[00:01:25]He was a child actor in the 1980s.

[00:01:29]As he grew older, he transitioned into romantic films and action films.

[00:01:35]He then went on to become a superstar with many films such as Kaththi, Mersal, Sarkar, Leo, and the modestly titled The Greatest of All Time.

[00:01:48]Several of his films grossed hundreds of crores for the actor who portrayed himself as the angry young man fighting corruption and social inequality.

[00:02:01]But while he was promoting his movie career, he had one eye on a broader social participation.

[00:02:10]Most well-known Tamil stars have huge fan clubs and Vijay set up fan club in 2009, called the VMI.

[00:02:20]But the VMI was not just a fan club.

[00:02:23]Vijay had a wider dimension.

[00:02:25]VMI was engaged in food distribution, education support, blood donation camps, etc. It also took part in civic and local engagement.

[00:02:36]In a way, it was a testing ground for Vijay's political entry.

[00:02:42]In the 2021 local elections in Tamil Nadu, VMI dipped its toe in the political arena for the first time and won 115 of the 159 seats it contested. Vijay now knew that he had an organization for mounting a statewide political campaign.

[00:03:02]In February 2024, Vijay launched Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam, TVK, his political arm with organizational strength to fight the 2026 election.

[00:03:16]But seeing what had happened to earlier debutant actor politicians, virtually all political pundits were skeptical about his chances of setting the whole established Dravidian apple carts.

[00:03:30]But Vijay, the superstar of South Indian cinema, in his very first electoral foray, was a surprise winner of Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in April 2026. Look at his performance.

[00:03:45]It is not a clear majority, but he is clearly the number one with 108 seats.

[00:03:54]And on May 13, 2026, he entered the portals of the Tamil Nadu assembly at the nearly 400-year-old Fort St. George.

[00:04:02]So, that is Chief Minister Thalapathy Vijay for you.

[00:04:06]Stay tuned to E Kotha for more such snippets on the Tamil Nadu elections.