Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Actor-politician Vijay’s father SA Chandrasekhar has appealed to the Congress to forge an electoral alliance with his son’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly election, claiming it could help the grand old party regain its “old glory” in the state. The state Congress, however, has rejected this informal offer.Chandrasekhar said TVK was considering extending support to the Congress in the coming election, news agency PTI reported.“Congress has a history and a legacy … Vijay is ready to give them support and get them back to their old glory,” he said.Chandrasekhar said the Congress had been backing other parties for years and was gradually losing relevance in Tamil Nadu politics. “They (Congress) have been extending support to other parties and are on the wane. Vijay is ready to support them and help them regain their old glory,” he reiterated.He also claimed that several people had advised Vijay to contest the assembly elections on his own, asserting that the actor had bright prospects even without an alliance.Vijay, who has launched TVK as a political force, has in recent public outreach programmes sharply attacked the ruling DMK, calling it TVK’s political rival, and the AIADMK, describing it as corrupt. He has also targeted the BJP, calling it his ideological enemy.Vijay has maintained that TVK would come to power and change Tamil Nadu’s development trajectory.However, Chandrasekhar’s suggestion of a Congress-TVK alliance was dismissed by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai, who said the party did not need any “boost”.Reacting to Chandrasekhar’s comments, Selvaperunthagai told reporters in Arakkonam, “Look at our cadres, you will notice that they have had the boost already.”“Our leader Rahul Gandhi is giving us boost, Horlicks and Bournvita that we need. Nevertheless, I thank him for the offer,” he said.The alliance offer, however, has not come officially from Vijay.At a recent TVK meeting in Mahabalipuram, Vijay indicated that his party was strong enough to capture power on its own. He also brushed aside speculation on alliances, calling the coming election a “democratic war”.“There’s a lot of speculation about alliances … It is not a mere election but a democratic war. You (people) are my commandos who will fight this war,” Vijay said.
