With a portrait of Dr BR Ambedkar towering behind him, a calculated camera angle, and an all-out offensive against the Tamil Nadu government, Vijay’s second major political appearance proved to be a careful exercise in image-making. On December 6, Ambedkar’s death anniversary, Vijay launched the book Elorukkumaana Thalaivar Ambedkar (Ambedkar: A Leader for All) in a glittering event in Chennai.
It is rare in Tamil Nadu for an established actor—that too one of Vijay’s star power—to openly praise Ambedkar as an ideological leader and scholar to a massive audience. A wilfully reductive and segregationist view of Ambedkar as a long-past Dalit icon persists in the state, as it does elsewhere in India. But many have also criticised Vijay, saying he sidelined the book during his speech, choosing instead to focus on creating a divide between the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its ally, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), while settling political scores.
The fact that this is only the latest event to fuel speculation about a possible rift between the two allies has further heightened tensions. Although the book is by no means the sole cause, it has played a significant role in sparking such speculations. At the heart of the row are Vijay, VCK president and Chidambaram MP Thol Thirumavalavan, and the now suspended VCK vice president Aadhav Arjuna.
Elorukkumaana Thalaivar Ambedkar is co-published by the popular Tamil magazine Vikatan and Aadhav’s political strategy firm, Voice of Commons. The book includes essays by several leading scholars such as Anand Teltumbde, as well as an interview with Thirumavalavan.
But despite Thirumavalavan’s contribution to the book, pressure had been mounting on him over the past few months to skip its launch, as Vijay had agreed to participate in the event. The actor-politician had declared the ruling party his “political enemy,” making an event where Thirumavalavan and Vijay may share a stage potentially embarrassing for the DMK.
Thirumavalavan eventually skipped the event, but Vijay and Aadhav’s speeches further escalated the row. As the leader of the state’s largest Dalit-led political party, Thirumavalavan’s absence from the launch of a prominent book on Ambedkar led to criticism of both the VCK and DMK.
‘Ambedkar would be ashamed’
In his approximately 13-minute speech, Vijay spoke about the experience of reading Ambedkar’s Waiting for a Visa: Experiences with Untouchability. “I wondered as I read, ‘What did he give in return to a world that gave him only violence?’ I found out it was the idea that we are all born equal. We are equal before the law. No matter what caste nor religion we belong to, we are equal before the law. It was the cruelty of society that made Ambedkar fight for equality,” he said. The actor-politician also demanded that the Union government observe April 14—Ambedkar’s birthday—as ‘Democratic Rights Day’.
Apart from a fleeting remark on Manipur criticising the Union government for “ignoring” the violence, Vijay’s subsequent political criticism was limited to the DMK and its allies.
“What has this state government, which talks about social justice, done about Vengavayal?” Vijay asked, alleging that Ambedkar “would be ashamed” of how the DMK handled the crime. He was referring to the 2023 caste atrocity in Pudhukottai district, where people from the Other Backward Class (OBC) Mutharaiyar community allegedly mixed human faeces into the overhead drinking water tank of a Dalit village. The DMK government’s continued inaction led to a poll boycott in Vengavayal during the 2024 general elections.
Alleging a “multitude of problems” in Tamil Nadu, Vijay said that the only “longlasting solution” is a government that “loves its people and meets their fundamental needs safely, wholly, and according to procedure.”
He also slipped in a veiled reference to the wholly unrelated controversy around the aid provided by his party, the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), to flood victims of Cyclone Fengal in November. “I don’t believe in posting on social media and posing in the rain with the public for the sake of convention,” he said, seemingly referring to Chief Minister MK Stalin, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, and several state Cabinet ministers who had been overseeing relief operations on the ground in various districts in the aftermath of the cyclone. TVK had at the time distributed aid to around 250 residents of TP Chathiram in Chennai. However, Vijay faced backlash for bringing the residents to his home to hand over the relief material, rather than going to them directly.
Switching to the topic of the 2026 Assembly elections, Vijay issued a “warning” to the DMK, which he described as “a government that does not know how to respect public sentiments; that cannot ensure the safety–which is fundamental social justice–of its people; and relies entirely on alliance mathematics.” He declared that in the upcoming elections, Tamil Nadu’s voters would undo the DMK’s calculations regarding their allies.
But he reserved his parting comment to address the controversy about Thirumavalavan’s absence. “Even though I can imagine the pressure his alliance partners must be putting on him against even attending the launch of a book on Ambedkar, I can tell you, his thoughts will always be with us from now.”
The taunt fueled an uproar of speculation, prompting Thirumavalavan on the following day to say: “It appears Vijay’s thoughts were with me the whole time and not on the event.” The VCK president also insisted that his decision had been his own, taken for the “good of the party and the alliance,” and based on the conviction that “we must not fall prey to the plots of Sanathana Dharma forces.”
Vijay’s clashes with DMK
It may be recalled that even before officially entering politics, Vijay, in June 2023, had urged young fans to read about Ambedkar, the Dravidian icon Periyar, and the late Chief Minister K Kamaraj. Speaking at the time at an event organised by his fan association for Class 10 and 12 toppers, the actor-politician had already hinted at the left-of-centre position his party would eventually adopt.
In February 2024, Vijay launched his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). A few months later, during his speech at the party’s first state-level conference in Vikravandi, he announced that TVK’s ideological leaders would be Ambedkar, Periyar, Kamaraj, Velu Nachiyar of Sivagangai—the first queen to have gone to war against the East India Company—and Anjalai Ammal, who took part in the struggle for Independence and is often referred to as ‘south India’s Jhansi Rani’.
At Vikravandi, Vijay had attacked the DMK’s claim to social justice governance, accusing the party of corruption and dynastic politics. He even came up with a Kollywood-worthy punch line to suggest that the state government’s ideological opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Hindu right-wing stance was merely a cover. “If they are fascism, are you payasam?” Vijay scoffed, proceeding to brand the DMK his “political enemy” and the BJP his “ideological enemy”.
Into this fray came Elorukkumaana Thalaivar Ambedkar. As TNM reported previously on PowerTrip, the organisers had first approached Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister MK Stalin, but neither responded. In April, with Vijay having already launched his party, an invite was extended to him, and he accepted. The book, which had initially been scheduled to release on Ambedkar’s birthday, was finally launched on his death anniversary—December 6.
Sources had also previously told TNM that Thirumavalavan had initially been determined to attend the event regardless of Vijay’s attendance. However, the TVK president’s rhetoric in the months leading up to the book launch made it increasingly unlikely.
Aadhav’s call for ‘end of dynastic politics’
If Vijay’s attacks on the DMK on December 6 came from the perspective of a political opponent, Aadhav’s came from much closer to home for the ruling party. At the launch, Aadhav said, “Preparations for the 2026 Assembly elections should focus on ending dynastic politics. Ambedkar taught us that we are all born equal. A chief minister should not be appointed based on birth; only an idealistic leader should come to power.”
He also accused the DMK of functioning like a “monarchy” and promoting “dynastic politics.” “Tamil Nadu will no longer allow a monarchy to flourish. To dismantle monarchist families, we need Ambedkar’s ideologies today,” he stated.
Aadhav, who is the son-in-law of ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin, had divided the VCK when he was made vice president. It may also be noted that Aadhav is from a non-Dalit community. Many felt he had appeared on the scene suddenly, only to receive such a high rank in the party. His repeated comments against the DMK also irked VCK’s leadership.
Previously, Aadhav stirred controversy over Udhayanidhi Stalin’s appointment as Deputy Chief Minister in September. Days ahead of the official announcement, Aadhav had asked during an interview with a Tamil news channel, “If someone who came from the film industry four years ago can become deputy CM, why can’t Thirumavalavan, who has 40 years of experience in politics?”
Amid questions regarding possible trouble in the alliance, senior VCK leaders like Villupuram MP D Ravikumar and deputy general secretary Vanniyarasu openly condemned Aadhav. The VCK distanced itself, saying his comments were his personal views and not the party’s. Thirumvalavan insisted that there was no rift in the alliance.
DMK deputy general secretary and Nilgiri MP A Raja addressed a press conference, where he said, “He [Aadhav] has spoken without any ideological understanding. His words are harmful to the strength of our alliance and politics. Thirumavalavan is the only Dalit leader in India who roars that we must protect the Constitution and fight against Sanatha Dharma. I do not believe he will accept such views.”
On December 9, he was suspended from the VCK. In a statement after his suspension, Aadhav said that he felt the same way the day he had joined the VCK. “The slogan ‘a share in power along with a share in government’ must be raised until all Dalits and other marginalised castes finally get a share in that power,” he said.
Rows over the VCK-DMK alliance
Aadhav, however, was only doubling down on an ongoing controversy. Earlier, in September, Thirumavalavan’s official X handle shared a clip of his 1999 speech on the need for power sharing between allies. The post was deleted on the same day without explanation, triggering rumours about an alliance break.
On September 14, Thirumavalavan’s handle shared the deleted clip again, captioned: “From 1999, when VCK first set foot in the path of electoral politics, our stance has been: ‘Democracy for the last individual and power for the poor too’.”
During a press meet in the following days, Thirumavalavan reiterated his position on power-sharing, adding that there was nothing wrong with speaking about the issue. He said that the original post had been deleted due to a “misunderstanding.” Referring to the BJP, he pointed out that they had given Cabinet berths to their allies even in 2014, despite having a majority on their own.
Meanwhile, doubts about rifts in the DMK-VCK alliance have already arisen on multiple occasions this year. The liquor poisoning deaths in Villupuram, Chengalpattu, and Kallakurichi became a point of public friction between the VCK and the DMK. After 22 people in Villupuram and Chengalpattu and 65 people in Kallakurichi were killed due to methanol-laced arrack, the VCK demanded complete liquor prohibition in the state. In September, the VCK announced that it would hold an anti-liquor rally in Kallakurichi on October 2—MK Gandhi’s birthdate. Speculations intensified after the party extended an invite to the DMK’s main opposition party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and Vijay’s newly-launched TVK.
At the time, in a seeming attempt to quell rumours, the DMK had announced that it would also join the liquor rally.
But with Tamil Nadu set for Assembly elections in 2026, the issue of power-sharing now remains central to the multiple controversies surrounding the two allies this year.