Tamil Nadu: Vijay likely to make foray into politics, say sources

After the recent Mersal controversy, sources in the actor Vijay camp confirmed that soon he will make some significant announcement on joining politics. He made a significant statement on Wednesday. The statement of Vijay came in a letter head which had his name in bold "C. Joseph Vijay" and also has "Jesus saves us" on the top. This was seen as a retaliation to BJP leader H Raja who used communal card to hit out at Vijay for his latest blockbuster Mersal .

Raja released Vijay's voter card and accused him of insulting temples and making anti-BJP schemes statements in his movie Mersal. But, Vijay officially made a statement which can be interpreted as his foray into politics say sources. The statement said, "Mersal movie released successfully. But there was opposition to the movie. I am thankful to my film fraternity, political leaders and fans who extended support for the movie and made it a huge success."

Even as superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan are likely to enter politics, now another young mass hero is also toying with the idea. After the two veteran superstars, Vijay and Ajith have a major fan base in Tamil Nadu. But, Ajith has always stayed away from politics and also disbanded his fan clubs long time back.

Sources close to Vijay say, "He is tired of politicians putting road blocks to him. But political situation is also dicey at the moment. He also has a roaring career. However, he will soon have interactions with district secretaries of his fans."

Vijay's father S.A. Chandrasekar told India Today, "Vijay will takes his decisions."

The movie Mersal has all the indications of his political entry with the movie and dialogues wooing people on Tamil sentiments. Also there is a dialogue where Vijay's character says "it takes four or five years for a doctor or engineer to be created. But it takes decades for a politician to be created. And he should be accepted."

However, his close circle is now advising him to just go slow and steady. For last one decade DMK and AIAMDK had been creating problem for Vijay's movies seeing him as a potential threat.

However, DMK's spokesperson Manu Sundaram told India Today, "The DMK has always welcomed the entry of all people in politics, especially those who are public service-oriented, hold a long-term vision and can provide much needed stability to our political landscape. DMK has been integral part of Tamil political landscape since 1949 and we have experienced political leadership. There is no reason to be worried. There is no truth that DMK created any problems for Vijay or any other actor."

Now, BJP is also crying out loud that Vijay is having political ambitions.

The BJP national secretary H Raja has been accused of using communal card against the actor Vijay who has now released a statement using his name to convey he doesn't shy away from his religious beliefs.

Speaking to India Today, H Raja said, "Anyone who is 18 years old can enter politics. It's their free will. I can't comment or object to it. I only pointed out factual errors in the movie Mersal. I didn't play any communal card, but just showed his ration card."

Political analysts feel Tamil Nadu has become a free playing field for actors to aspire for becoming CM in the vacuum created in politics. 

R K Radhakrishnan, political analyst, told India Today, "There's no basic qualification needed to enter politics. All these new faces have been expressing interest in politics because they believe that they can contribute to Tamil society. So, they all need to be welcomed. But it's also a fact that we need to scrutinize what they've contributed to their fields of activity. Has Vijay or anyone else raised their voice to the many atrocities that afflicted the film world? I believe the answer to that question is a big no. So, then, I'm forced to ask the question if it's the hunger for power that drives these filmstars to politics?"