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Malayalam actor and politician S Devan on Monday, August 24, said he has decided to join Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the party led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. Devan recently resigned as the Kerala state vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said TVK representatives approached him after his resignation, and that he accepted the invitation following preliminary discussions.
A formal announcement about his joining the party is expected after Devan meets Vijay in Chennai on September 10.
Devan told the media that TVK had offered him the post of president of its Kerala unit.
“I raised certain issues in 2004, and that is exactly what Vijay is raising now. There are certain similarities between Joseph Vijay and me in politics, and that is what attracted me to him,” Devan said.
Devan said he entered politics with the aim of fighting corruption and communalism and creating a new political culture.
“In 2004, I was the highest-paid villain in south India. I knew that if I entered politics, it would affect my film career. So I made that sacrifice and entered politics,” he said.
Devan began his political career during his college days with the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress party. He formally entered electoral politics in 2004, when he formed the Kerala People’s Party. He contested the 2004 Wadakkanchery bye-election and the 2006 Assembly election from Thiruvananthapuram on the party’s ticket, but lost both elections.
In 2020, Devan renamed and relaunched the party as the Nava Kerala People’s Party. The party merged with the BJP in 2021, following which Devan was appointed vice-president of the BJP's Kerala unit.
Devan resigned from the BJP on August 15, announcing his decision at a function at the Kanichukulangara Devi temple in Alappuzha, which is managed by the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam.
At the event, Devan said he had felt a lack of “space” and meaningful work during his nearly five years in the BJP. He also accused the BJP’s Kerala unit of moving away from the ideals of social justice espoused by social reformer Sree Narayana Guru.
