Chandrasekharan Joseph Vijay’s ascent as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu marks a monumental departure from decades of Dravidian dominance. By shifting his base from the film industry to politics, he has successfully converted his loyal fanbase into an organised order under his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Long before any of his political endeavours, he had dropped several hints about interests to lead the State. At one of his film launch events, when asked if he would become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in real life, parallel to his movie character, he replied, “If I become the CM, I will not ‘act’ like a CM.” With the emergence of Mr. C. Joseph Vijay as Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu has acquired a new ‘power centre’ around which would revolve politics of the Southern State at least for some time. This may be described as a paradigm shift away from the influence of the Dravidian ideology that dominated Tamil Nadu politics for decades.

 

Though the Dravidian colouration may not be erased entirely, the very thought-process Mr. C. Joseph Vijay represents has a clear stamp of independent approach to issues of socio-political importance. Of course, the presence of Congress and other parties of Leftist orientation in Mr. Vijay’s Council of Ministers makes it obvious that there may be a clash of ideologies of what is generally described as ‘right-of-the-Centre’ category. Be that as it may, it is clear that Tamil Nadu politics will emerge from the thick shadow of Dravidian ideology that clashed unnecessarily with the nationalist standard. Having seen the manner in which Tamil Nadu’s politics got landscaped over time, the new Chief Minister made a rather loud assertion that he would ‘be the only power centre’ in the State. Though some may categorise that assertion as a mark of Mr. Vijay’s arrogance, in reality he appears to insist that he would not be swayed by different influences in the power pyramid. In other words, his assertion may be interpreted as a mark of his resolve to take the complete responsibility of the decisions his Government would make on issues.

 

That may, of course, be a tall order, so to say, for a new Chief Minister whose personal political experience does not exceed a couple of years all told. But into Tamil Nadu’s political scene, he entered as a tempest of sorts, sweeping off feet the two Dravidian parties -- the Dravida Munetra Kazagham (DMK) and All India Anna DMK. Mr. Vijay’s party -- the Tamiliga Vettri Kazagham (TVK) -- could not even fashion its election manifesto properly. Yet, beyond any doubt, Mr. Vijay appeared as a huge promise to the young generations of Tamil people -- partly represented by his image in movies and partly by the fresh or rather raw political ideas he spoke about with such vehemence. Those ideas were not finely-worded, so to say. Yet, they created an appeal for young Tamilians whose votes catapulted him to 108 seats for the TVK, an unprecedented event in Tamil Nadu politics, reminding the people of the manner in which the legendary Mr. M.G. Ramachandran had stormed onto the scene decades ago.

 

It was only natural that the DMK and AIADMK would have no answer to the Vijay juggernaut. That was so simply because Mr. Vijay did not speak those jaded words that were key to the Dravidian politics. Mr. Vijay’s countenance does not suggest deep intellectualism, all right. But it also does not suggest an ideological vacuum. Rather, his thought-platform suggests certain freedom from old ideas -- which appealed to young people’s minds. He is entering the political arena as its nerve centre with hitherto unstated capabilities. Only time will tell if he has the capacity to convert his ideas into practical response to the challenges of management of political power. Will he be able to circumvent vested interests that may hinder his path ? Only time will tell. Mr. C. Joseph Vijay’s political career has taken a sudden upswing that he himself might not have anticipated to this extent. Nevertheless, he has been pitch-forked into a unique slot that has made him a national hero of sorts.

 

He is quick to learn right lessons, if he is absorbent enough to understand complex nuances of ideological divides that often mark politics, if he is able to keep the unfair demands of coalition politics at bay, then Mr. C. Joseph Vijay would be able to create a stamp of his own on Tamil Nadu politics. At this moment, he is only at the start of a long journey. We will have to give him a long rope so that he settles in his challenging position. At least at the moment, he has the stars favouring him.