Tamil Nadu election results: What sets Vijay apart from Rajini and Kamal Haasan in the political sphere

Actor politician Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) have made history.

The TVK, which has emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu, currently leads in 107 seats. Meanwhile, the ruling DMK and AIADMK are at 72 and 55 seats respectively.

Though several actors in the south, including M G Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa, N T Rama Rao and Chiranjeevi, have found success in the rough and tumble of politics, others such as Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth have not been able to convert their popularity at the box office into the ballot box.

So why did Vijay succeed where Haasan and Rajinikanth did not?

Let’s take a closer look

Rajinikanth

Let’s first take a look at Rajinikanth.

Rajinikanth, or ‘Thalaivar’ to his fans, took the political plunge after decades of will-he-won’t-he. His first brush with politics came in 1996, when he urged the public to support the DMK government instead of the then Opposition leader J Jayalalithaa. "Even God can't save Tamil Nadu if Jayalalithaa comes back to power again," Rajinikanth famously said. The DMK dominated the polls in the aftermath of his remarks. However, Rajinikanth himself called the statement "a mistake and an accident", as per NDTV.

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It was only in December 2017 that Rajinikanth finally confirmed that he would enter politics to bring a ‘change in Tamil Nadu’ with the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM). Rajinikanth, 67 at the time, on social media had vowed to bring a “corruption-free" government to the state and added that he would launch a party in January 2018 with "huge support from people". He said the party would contest the upcoming Assembly polls and bring in an “honest, transparent, corruption-free, caste-less, secular and spiritual politics" in the state. "Wonderful and amazing things will happen!" he added.

Rajinikanth, or ‘Thalaivar’ to his fans, took the political plunge after decades of will-he-won’t-he. AP

Rajinikanth initially vowed to fight from all 234 Assembly seats in the 2021 elections in Tamil Nadu under the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM). However, many were puzzled in March 2020 when he announced in a press conference that he had no desire to be chief minister. In December 2020, Rajinikanth announced that he would launch his political party in January 2021. He repeated the Tamil phrase “ippo illana eppovum illa,” meaning if not now then never. However, in mid-December 2020, he was hospitalised with health concerns.

Rajinikanth then left his fans shocked when he announced that he was withdrawing from politics given his poor health and called his hospitalisation a God’s warning. “Only I know the pain behind making this announcement,” the then 70-year-old actor said in a statement. Rajinikanth said that the RMM would be carrying out ‘welfare activities’. “I have no plans of entering politics in future,” Rajinikanth added. Many people from his RMM then quit and joined other political parties, and Rajinikanth’s political career never got off the ground. In the end, Rajinikanth and his Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM) ultimately did not even contest a single poll.

Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan, another icon from the south, announced the formation of his Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party, or ‘People’s Justice Centre’, in February 2018. Haasan, a self-professed rationalist and atheist with an interest in communism, had been taking to social media to slam the then AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu. Haasan, interestingly, had also given his thoughts on Rajinikanth entering politics in an interview.

"I will not say in an interview what my views are on Rajini entering politics because he's my friend," Haasan was quoted as saying by The News Minute. "I wish him well in whatever he does and I will do so if he enters politics, too. But once he becomes a politician, I will criticise him as well, just as I do others."

At the time, he said his aim was “making Tamil Nadu the number one state in the country”, as per Forbes. The party, which avoided the word ‘Dravidian’ in its name, was launched at a massive event in Tamil Nadu with fans and supporters in the presence of then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “I am not a thalaiva (leader or boss), I am one among you,” Haasan was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. The party was registered with the Election Commission of India in July 2018.

Kamal Haasan, another icon from the south, announced the formation of his Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party, or ‘People’s Justice Centre’, in February 2018. PTI

The MNM, which refused to come close to either the AIADMK or the DMK, went it alone for the 2019 polls. It received a 3.72 per cent vote share and did particularly well in urban areas. "We didn't expect (the people) to embrace a 14-month-old baby; the adulation is better than our expectations. We have done what we could do in 14 months. If there had been more time, we would have done better. I don't think there is such a history for a new party. This is a big achievement," Haasan was quoted as saying at the time by The News Minute. However, the party performed poorly in rural areas, getting just a three per cent vote share in the interior areas of Tamil Nadu.

In the 2021 polls, for which the Election Commission had allotted the MNM the ‘battery torch’ symbol, the party won zero seats. As per The Print, the MNM had presented itself as an alternative to “corrupt and dynastic Dravidian parties”. It tied up with actor Sarath Kumar’s All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi as well as the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi. Haasan himself lost to the BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan by 1,728 votes in the Coimbatore South constituency.

The MNM earlier this year announced that it would not be contesting the polls in Tamil Nadu. Haasan had said that his party, which is part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, would offer unconditional support to all the candidates of the DMK-led alliance. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had hailed the move as a "magnanimous decision setting aside self-interest with dignity and prioritising the welfare” of the state.

How Vijay got it right

According to India Today, it was Vijay’s messaging that stood him in good stead. Rather than dilly-dallying, he announced he would be quitting acting and getting into politics full time. This gave voters confidence that this was a serious endeavour. While both Rajinikanth and Haasan did not outright slam the DMK or AIADMK, Vijay went after both Dravidian parties. Political expert T S Sudhir told the outlet that Vijay's over 85,000 fan clubs and network played an invaluable role – essentially serving as a shadow political outfit for nearly a decade. The fruit of their labours in Tamil Nadu has been witnessed at the ballot box.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) workers hold photographs of their leader, actor-turned-politician Vijay, as they celebrate results in the recently held state election, in Chennai. AP

Vijay was also helped by his comparative youth compared to Rajinikanth, who was almost 70 when he launched his political movement, and Haasan, who was around 65 years old. Vijay proved popular with the 18 to 39 age group, who helped shape the social media narrative around him.

A piece in News18 also noted how Vijay, unlike Rajinikanth, did not draw out his political plunge. The piece noted how Vijay, who formed TVK in 2024, did not compete in the Lok Sabha polls and instead decided to build a grassroots setup. Unlike Haasan, Vijay also did not limit himself to the urban educated elite. He instead focused on welfare to attract voters from both rural constituencies and growing urban centres, which increased his cross-demographic appeal.

FAQs

1. Why did Vijay succeed in politics where Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan did not?

Vijay succeeded due to a decisive entry into politics, strong grassroots organisation through fan clubs, clear messaging, and broader appeal across both rural and urban voters.

2. Did Rajinikanth ever contest elections?

No, Rajinikanth ultimately withdrew from politics before contesting any elections due to health concerns.

3. What was Kamal Haasan’s electoral performance?

Kamal Haasan’s party MNM secured a modest vote share of 3.2 per cent in 2019. It failed to win any seats in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

With inputs from agencies