Editor’s note: With the VCK emerging as a key force in Tamil Nadu’s changing political landscape after extending support to Vijay’s TVK in the formation of the new government, TNM is republishing this detailed profile of the party and its leader Thol Thirumavalavan, originally published during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, with minor contextual updates.
When a young Thol Thirumavalavan thundered ‘Adanga maru, Athu meeru, Thimiri Ezhu, Thiruppi Adi’ (‘Refuse to be subdued, Transgress, Rise vehemently, Retaliate’) standing on the south car street in Chidambaram in 1996, it marked a political awakening for many Dalit youngsters, who had been conditioned to silently endure oppression.
In the 25 years since its foray into electoral politics, Thirumavalavan’s party – the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) – has evolved into a strategic and astute force and the biggest Dalit party in Tamil Nadu. Though its electoral strength has remained limited in terms of seats, VCK has by now emerged as a crucial alliance player. Following the 2026 Assembly elections, the party has now become a kingmaker in Tamil Nadu politics after extending support to Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in the formation of the new government.
Notably, despite expanding its political base across the five southern states and being considered an ideological nemesis to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the VCK’s current prospects and future trajectory still hinge largely on the persona and politics of one man – Thol Thirumavalavan.
VCK emerged from the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) movement in Maharashtra, which drew inspiration from the revolutionary Black Panther Party in the United States. VCK also focuses on community organisation, grassroots activism, and challenging systemic injustices, similar to the Black Panthers. It amalgamates the ideologies of Ambedkar on social justice and empowerment for Dalits; Periyar on rationalism, social reform, and anti-caste movement; and Marx on capitalism and advocacy for proletarian liberation. The party believes that only by addressing the multifaceted dimensions of oppression and inequality can one attain liberation.
Though VCK has changed the political landscape of Tamil Nadu, it has a chequered past because of some of its alliances and has been accused of being patriarchal and a sub-caste Dalit party. However, Dalits and those from marginalised communities still feel that VCK is their only hope as it is the only anti-caste party in Tamil Nadu that is actively fighting Hindutva forces.
In the recently concluded 2026 state Assembly elections, VCK secured two out of the eight seats it contested.
The 2026 Assembly election marked a new phase in the VCK’s political journey. Though the party’s independent electoral strength remains modest, its post-poll relevance has assumed a greater significance. With Tamil Nadu delivering a fractured mandate, the VCK emerged as a crucial player in government formation.
After days of uncertainty, the party extended support to Vijay’s TVK, helping the alliance cross the majority mark and enabling Vijay to stake claim to form the government. The decision is politically significant not only because it places the VCK at the centre of power negotiations, but also because it is expected to give the party a direct share in governance for the first time.
In the political ecosystem where Dalit politicians and parties are most often relegated to reserved constituencies, this moment represents, for supporters, the culmination of Thirumavalavan’s long-standing demand that Dalit parties should not merely support governments from the outside, but participate in power-sharing itself.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Chidambaram constituency saw a direct fight between VCK and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Thol Thirumavalavan, the sitting MP contesting again under the party’s ‘pot’ symbol, faced off against P Karthiyayini and won. D Ravikumar of the VCK recontested in Villupuram under the same symbol and won.
In the 2019 elections, the two parties tried an interesting strategy by having VCK adopt the ‘rising sun’ symbol of the DMK in the Villupuram constituency. A section of Dalit supporters, however, were unhappy with the move. This didn’t dent Ravikumar’s prospects; he won by securing more than five lakh votes over Pattali Makkal Katchi’s (PMK) Vadivel Ravanan. The PMK’s base consists largely of the Vanniyar caste, which is a dominant caste group but belonging to the most backward class (MBC). This strategy allowed the DMK and the VCK to tide over the consolidation of Vanniyar votes towards the PMK. The PMK is often seen as an anti-Dalit party and has been responsible for several Dalit-Vanniyar riots in the region, including the 1978 Villupuram massacre that left 12 Dalits dead and more than hundred of their huts burnt.
Professor Karthikeyan Damodaran from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) points out that the VCK is yet to develop in the electoral landscape. “Twenty years ago, VCK got two seats to contest from and that remains the same today. They are forced to make compromises for the sake of the larger good. Right now, the threat of Hindutva is used to put them in a compromising position. But you can’t just be a cog in the wheel. This onus is not only on the VCK but on DMK and other parties that believe in democracy. VCK remaining in the same place is not only bad for their own political party and ideology, but also for democracy in a larger sense.”
In the 20th century, Dalit youths who started entering higher education in Maharashtra started a literary movement known as the ‘Little Magazine Movement’. In the 1960s, this movement vehemently criticised the government’s stance on caste discrimination. In 1972, inspired by the Black Panther Party, Dalit writers from this movement formed the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) in Bombay. It was led by JV Pawar, Namdeo Dhasal, and Raja Dhale.