A day after flags belonging to actor Vijay’s fans association were seen at the rally conducted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai, the association has issued a clarification. Bussy Anand, the Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (TVMI) general secretary, said on Saturday, August 5, “Those people who were reported to have taken the TVMI flag to another party’s rally do not hold any positions in TVMI. Further, there is no connection between TVMI and those people.”
The incident happened in Madurai city’s Theppakulam neighbourhood when Annamalai’s padayatra En Mann, En Makkal reached the area. Persons carrying the blue flag of Vijay’s fans association were seen welcoming the BJP chief.
தளபதி விஜய் மக்கள் இயக்கக் கொடியோடு மாற்றுக்கட்சி நிகழ்ச்சிகளில் பங்கு கொண்டதாக ஊடகங்கள் மற்றும் சமூக ஊடக செய்திகளில் வெளியான நபர்கள் தளபதி விஜய் மக்கள் இயக்கத்தின் எந்த பொறுப்பிலும் இல்லை, மற்றும் அவர்களுக்கும் தளபதி மக்கள் இயக்கத்திற்க்கும் எந்த தொடர்பும் இல்லை என்பதை… pic.twitter.com/50XWvBmIOE
— Bussy Anand (@BussyAnand) August 5, 2023
The incident with the flags comes in the wake of speculation over whether Vijay is set to enter politics. The popular actor has recently been holding meetings with district secretaries of TVMI. On July 11, after one such meeting held at his home in Chennai, Vijay reportedly announced that he will quit acting completely if he enters politics to ensure that his focus isn’t deterred. At the same meeting, he also thanked the district secretaries and other TVMI workers for the success of the event held in June, wherein the actor felicitated top scoring students from classes 10 and 12 from all the districts of Tamil Nadu.
The speculation about Vijay’s possible political entry gained momentum after the actor encouraged TVMI leaders and members to contest in local body elections across the state as independent candidates in 2021. At the time, they won 115 out of the 169 seats that they contested in. TVMI leaders had contested in nine districts that were reconstituted at the time, namely Chengalpattu, Kallakurichi, Ranipet, Villupuram, Vellore, Kancheepuram, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, and Tirupathy.
Meanwhile, Annamalai’s six-month long padayatra has completed ten days so far. His campaign proposes to cover all 39 Lok Sabha constituencies of Tamil Nadu and is scheduled to conclude on January 11, 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP state president will be covering 1,770 km by foot and travel by vehicle in rural areas. Ten major rallies are planned during the padayatra.