It’s now been over 48 hours since a deadly stampede in Karur district killed 41 people, including nine children. Actor-politician Vijay, at whose political rally the stampede happened, has released two statements. But he is yet to speak to the press. Meanwhile, his supporters have taken to social media to deflect blame at anyone but their leader.
On September 27, thousands flocked to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) rally at Velusamypuram in Karur town, hoping for a glimpse of party president and Kollywood star Vijay.
He arrived at Karur from Namakkal over six hours late amid surging crowds. His bus was followed by at least 5,000 supporters, despite directives not to do so. From the addition of 5,000 people to an already packed venue, supporters climbing buildings and trees to a lack of drinking water, multiple factors triggered chaos at Velusamypuram.
At present, TVK can hardly be described as a political party. Instead, what we see on the ground is a perturbing mix of hero-worship sprinkled with some politics. What else can explain supporters waiting at the venue overnight? Or bringing small children into heavy crowds just to see Vijay in the flesh from afar?
Yes, former Tamil Nadu chief ministers MGR and Jayalalithaa and superstar Rajinikanth have garnered such adoration. Vijay and his team appear to revel in adulation. The TVK has chosen Dr BR Ambedkar and Periyar as two of its ideological leaders, yet it is absolute fealty rather than critical thinking that Vijay’s fans largely display.
We saw visuals of supporters climbing atop small tin-roofed buildings and tree branches that subsequently collapsed, crowding generator rooms and tailing Vijay’s bus. Similar scenes played out at the launch of Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party and at Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan’s birthday event in 2020 when three fans died of electrocution.
Fanaticism isn’t limited to Vijay’s following. But it is an acute problem when it comes to him, exacerbated by his entry into politics. This is more evident from events before and after the stampede.
During the Karur rally, multiple reports emerged of attacks on ambulances – a mistrust recently fanned by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami. In August, EPS accused the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of deliberately disrupting his campaign by making an ambulance pass through the crowds.
These claims had consequences during the deadly stampede on September 27.
In one video, two women TVK supporters claimed that 10 empty ambulances entered the crowds. They reasoned that the vehicles must have been sent with the singular intention of “clearing the crowds, making supporters regret attending the event.” The fact that the allegedly empty ambulances in all likelihood were on their way to pick up patients doesn’t seem to occur to them.
Sharing this clip on X, one TVK supporter said, “Pls spread max TVK brothers and sisters. Empty ambulance movements to create unnecessary tension situation. Pls don't give up na @TVKVijayHQ we know u won’t (sic).”
In an interview to Polimer News, one ambulance driver said that a colleague was attacked by TVK supporters. “They stopped the ambulance and beat him up. They asked, ‘why have you come here? With whose permission?’”
The injured driver added, “Ten people had collapsed. One of them was a woman. Her clothes were torn. I gave her my shirt. When I came back after dropping her off in a nearby hospital, they beat me up asking why I wasn’t wearing a shirt.”
Even as the death toll rose to at least 30, Vijay left for Chennai on a chartered flight from Trichy airport. He disregarded questions from the media personnel gathered at both Trichy and Chennai airports. Meanwhile, the hashtag #StandWithVijay began trending on X.
Since he launched the TVK in February 2024, Vijay has not met the press even once.
While it’s true that party cadres across the political spectrum rarely question their leaders, it would also be wrong to suggest that the media always fills that gap. The press does hold many leaders to account, but not all are subject to the same scrutiny. Vijay, however, seems intent on carrying his star-era habit into politics by continuing to sidestep press interactions and entirely avoid uncomfortable questions.
This trend has now established a hermetically sealed echo chamber within which Vijay only interacts with his supporters from stages. Everyone else is solely privy to a one-way communication through statements issued on the TVK’s social media handles.
This sets a dangerous and undemocratic precedent. Why is Vijay exempt from accountability?
Question the DMK and the administration by all means. When a tragedy of this scale occurs, every single aspect must be examined to identify what lapses cost 41 lives.
Neither is it inherently wrong to examine the optics of DMK’s response. For example, a video of School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh crying on camera outside a Karur hospital, set to generically sad music, has understandably led to widespread criticism.
But what the state government does not have control over is Vijay’s own optics. He chose to leave Karur. He chooses to remain silent rather than face the media. It is the TVK’s choice that there appeared to be no second rung of leadership to respond to public anger and help with relief efforts. The blitzkrieg of deflection and sympathetic posts along the lines of ‘He must be so heartbroken’ are also the party’s choice.
Is this the political change Vijay and the TVK are promising? An invisible leader at a time of crisis?
If he truly wants to emerge as a credible third front, Vijay needs to move beyond relying on populist fandom. He needs to engage with the larger public. Punchlines delivered with aplomb on stage may get cheers, but that isn’t politics.
Karur Stampede: Timeline of Tragedy at Vijay’s TVK Rally | Shabbir Ahmed Ground Report