Vijay with members of Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam. (Photo: PR handout) If you haven’t yet spotted Tamil superstar Vijay in the above picture, don’t worry, I got you. He is sitting in the extreme left corner in a white shirt coupled with black trousers. You may wonder why Vijay chose to blend in with the crowd as opposed to standing out. It seems Vijay is trying to make a statement as he takes baby steps towards his political aspirations.
That Vijay nurtures a career in politics is an open secret. Although, he has not openly acknowledged it. Taking a cue from Superstar Rajinikanth, he is keeping his political plunge in suspense. However, unlike Rajinikanth, he is not merely playing the game of “will he, won’t he?”. He has begun the groundwork in pursuit of political power.
With the blessings of Vijay, his fan club Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam made a stunning debut in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu rural local body elections by winning more than 120 seats. Whereas actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam, which has been in electoral politics for a few years now, even failed to open its account. What’s even more noteworthy is neither Vijay nor top members of his fan club openly campaigned for their candidates.
Vijay’s selfie with fans from the sets of Master. The results of the elections have shown the electoral potential of Vijay’s stardom, which seems more potent than the influence that Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan wields. And it seems Vijay has begun to slowly shed his superstar image and get closer to people. Case in point – his latest picture with the winning candidates of Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, in which he unassumingly takes the corner chair, while the winning candidates dominate the limelight.
The photo could be touted as Vijay’s first public acknowledgement of his political motive, which had remained unambiguous so far. It remains to be seen how long Vijay will remain on the sidelines before he leads from the front.
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