Another star appears on South horizon, but can Vijay do a Pawan Kalyan?

The 2 person taken vastly antithetic roads to politics, though – Kalyan, the Andhra Deputy Chief Minister now, has positioned himself arsenic the defender of Sanatana Dharma; portion Vijay has announced his party’s ideology arsenic “secular societal justice”.

While Kalyan is seen arsenic projecting himself arsenic an alternate to state BJP, successful Tamil Nadu, Vijay’s basal mirrors the state’s Dravidian heavyweights successful the AIADMK and DMK, and their legacy.

However, determination is thing Vijay tin larn from Kalyan’s governmental journey, fixed however the second has bounced backmost aft being trounced successful the 2019 Andhra polls, and that is his palmy conversion of his instrumentality basal into voters.

It’s not arsenic casual arsenic this sounds, arsenic different movie stars earlier Kalyan person realised. Take for illustration Kalyan’s ain brother, megastar Chiranjeevi. He launched his Praja Rajyam Party successful 2008 to the roaring enactment of teeming fans. But the enactment won conscionable 18 seats successful the archetypal Assembly polls it contested, retired of full 294 successful the authorities then, and wrong 3 years, merged with the Congress.

Another illustration is Kamal Haasan, who launched his governmental party, Makkal Needhi Maiam, successful 2018. The enactment has not seen electoral occurrence still, contempt associating itself with the ruling DMK conjugation successful Tamil Nadu now.

Neither Chiranjeevi nor Kamal Haasan could bash what yesteryear stars M G Ramachandran (MGR) achieved successful 1972, and N T Rama Rao (NTR) aboriginal successful 1982. Having founded the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) successful absorption to the Congress authorities successful the past agreed Andhra, NTR captured powerfulness successful the authorities successful 1983, wrong a twelvemonth of entering politics.

In 1977, MGR had pulled disconnected an astir akin governmental debut, starring the AIADMK to powerfulness 5 years aft helium joined politics.

The occurrence of some was the effect of their quality to person instrumentality clubs into governmental units, and to get voters to judge successful the governmental ideology of their parties.

In the lawsuit of Kalyan, what has helped is the governmental alliances helium has formed, archetypal with the TDP and BJP separately, and past playing a relation successful getting the 2 to travel backmost unneurotic connected the aforesaid platform.

JSP insiders accidental Kalyan besides showed shrewdness successful his willingness to marque “sacrifices” successful seat-sharing to marque this travel about. In the caller elections, for example, helium contested conscionable 21 of the 175 seats successful the state’s Assembly and 2 of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies. More importantly, each his party’s candidates won.

Where could Vijay beryllium looking for friends travel the adjacent Assembly elections successful Tamil Nadu, successful 2026? He dropped immoderate hints astatine his party’s archetypal state-level league past month, calling the BJP his “ideological enemy” and the DMK his “political enemy”.

This has led to speculation that Vijay could signifier an confederation with the Congress successful Tamil Nadu. However, with the Congress itself a weakened unit successful the state, lone the coming days volition archer however this manus volition play out.