Chennai: After the first grand conference of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in October, actor-turned politician C Joseph Vijay participated in his first social event—an Ambedkar book release—at Chennai in the first week of December.
Vijay had mentioned Ambedkar among the ideological mentors of the TVK at his party’s first rally at Vikravandi in northern Tamil Nadu, a region where a large chunk of the Dalit community is present and is considered the region of Thol Thirumavalavan’s Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), formerly known as the Dalit Panthers of India.
ThePrint has now learnt that the Vijay’s newly formed party is eyeing on the Dalits as vote bank considering it has a large following in the marginalised community since his movie days.
A political consultant working with the TVK told ThePrint that it was a strategy to consolidate the anti-incumbency against the ruling DMK government. “Ever since he (Vijay) entered the movie industry, he had a huge fan base from the Dalit and the marginalised section of people because of the roles he acted in the movies. So, we thought of banking on those vote banks,” the consultant said.
Although TVK spokesperson Jagadeeshwaran denied that the Dalits were a vote bank, he said that the party already has a significant number of Dalit supporters apart from other castes. “Even in the appointment of the functionaries, Dalits have been given prominent positions in the party. Once the full list of functionaries is released, people will know it,” Jagadeeshwaran said.
The Dalits comprise around 20 percent of Tamil Nadu’s population, according to the 2011 Census. However, activists pitch that the numbers are likely to have gone up by 6 percent over the years.
While the Dalits traditionally voted for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a large chunk of them shifted side after the VCK entered into the political foray in 1999. The VCK has four MLAs and two MPs and now enjoys the status of a state party.
Another prominent Ambedkarite party is the Puthiya Thamilagam, apart from the smaller outfits like the Tamil Puligal, the Athi Tamizhar Peravai, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Republic Party of India.
Stating that Vijay’s aim is to consolidate the Dalit vote bank, retired professor Ramu Manivannan commented that the actor is stealing the groundwork of thousands of people who have fought for the rights of the Dalits.
“He has been in the industry for 30 years and all these years, he had never ever stood for any of the issues pertaining to the Dalits in the state. All of a sudden after launching a party, he starts to care for the Dalit rights,” the former head of political science department at Madras University told ThePrint.
Similarly, writer and historian Stalin Rajangam said that the actor has a social compulsion to talk about the Dalits and Dalit issues. “The social compulsion and pressure have not been created in the last three years, but, in the last three decades. Dalits and Dalit issues are no longer an ad-ons for the party, they have become the mainstream of any political party to reach power in the state,” Stalin said.
Vote bank vs issues
Just like a song in his movie Pokkiri (2007) says ‘Theepandham Aduthu Theendamai Kozhuthu (burn untouchability with a fire torch)’, Vijay has been trying to portray himself as the beacon of hope for the Dalits.
In June, the actor had given a shawl and an Ambedkar’s book to Chinnathurai, a Scheduled Caste student, at an educational award ceremony.
Chinnadurai, 17, and his younger sister were hacked by six students belonging to dominant castes from his school at his house in August last year. Both the siblings survived the attack. Chinnadurai had cleared Class 12 exams with 78.16 percent score.
Vijay also took on the DMK government over the Vengaivayal incident, where human excreta was mixed into a water tank that supplied water to the Adi Dravidar community in the village.
Writer and political commentator Shalin Maria Lawrence said that Vijay enjoyed favourable response among the new generation of Dalit youngsters. “Vijay is being looked upon as the new icon, who can talk about the Dalit issues. Even though he is seen as commodifying Ambedkar’s ideologies, as long as it is going to help the next generation Dalit youngsters, they do not worry about the electoral calculations behind it,” she told ThePrint.
A Vijay aide working with the actor since his rasigar mandram (fan clubs) days told ThePrint that Vijay had been very careful to be on the side of the marginalised people even if it was in the films or the social activity.
He further recalled how Vijay visited the house of Anitha, a Dalit student from Ariyalur district, who had ended her life after failing to clear the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in 2017.
Another TVK functionary gave the example of the actor meeting the families of the victims of spurious liquor at Kallakurichi in June. “Most of them who died in the incident were Dalits and he wanted to visit them in person. It was a conscious decision to garner the support of the underprivileged,” the functionary said, adding that the actor-politician can only reap where he had sowed all these years.
However, academic Karthikeyan Damodaran refused to believe that Vijay was really into the Dalit politics. “As a new entrant, he is testing his waters. He does not seem to be having any real intentions in the electoral point of view. But, unintentionally, he has taken up the Dalit issues and it might lead to positive or negative consequences and he has the time to afford even if he faces any negative consequences,” the assistant professor at National Law School of India University said.
Karthikeyan also referred to Vijay’s filmography as one of the reasons for him to embrace Ambedkar and speak about the Dalit issues. “He has never made movies that typically showcase the caste pride of the character. However, there has always been class connotation: a boy-next-door appearance which took him closer to the marginalised community.”
Karthikeyan also credited Ambedkarites, including VCK leader Thol.Thirumavalavan and film director Pa Ranjith, for creating a social compulsion among the political parties to talk about Dalits and Dalit issues.
Political researcher Arun was upfront about Vijay’s plan, saying that the actor-politician was also eyeing the vote bank of Thol Thirumavalavan’s VCK. “A large chunk of the Dalit voters are consolidated in the northern part of Tamil Nadu, and he is eyeing the vote share that is considered as the traditional vote bank of VCK and DMK. So, he does not want to antagonise the VCK. By sharing his affection for Thirumavalavan, he is also getting the support of VCK cadres,” the professor of politics at a private college said.
Nevertheless, TVK spokesperson Jagadheeswaran said that Vijay remained a caste neutral person although he was a Christian by birth. “He has even built a Saibaba temple for his mother. It is not just the Dalits. The Vanniyars and the Muthuraiyars are among the communities supporting Vijay. He is the leader for all,” Jagadheeswaran said.
While the Vanniyars are one of the largest and most politically-active Most Backward Classes (MBCs) in Tamil Nadu, the Muthuraiyars are a backward community with major presence in Trichy and Cauvery delta region.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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