Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Amid the continuing deadlock over government formation in Tamil Nadu, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) on Friday launched a sharp attack on actor-politician Vijay’s TVK, accusing the party of seeking support through WhatsApp messages instead of holding direct political consultations with leaders.Despite emerging as the single-largest party in the high-stakes assembly elections, TVK chief Vijay has so far been unable to stake claim to form the government, with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar turning him away twice over the lack of clear majority numbers.In a strongly worded statement, the VCK questioned Vijay’s political handling of the post-election situation and accused his inner circle of misguiding him. The party said Vijay should have personally met leaders of parties whose support he was seeking instead of relying on informal communication.“Shouldn’t Vijay have met political leaders face-to-face and openly discussed the need to prevent the BJP from entering Tamil Nadu through the Governor?” the VCK general secretary Sinthanai Selvan said in a post on X, criticising what it described as a casual approach to coalition-building.The party also took exception to reports that support was being sought through WhatsApp messages asking leaders to “reply and let us know”, calling it politically inappropriate during a constitutional crisis.“How are we to understand sending a letter via WhatsApp asking for support and then saying “reply and let us know”? he wrote.The VCK further accused some second-rung TVK leaders of exploiting Vijay’s popularity and hero image while using him to settle scores with the DMK. It also criticised remarks allegedly made by some TVK leaders suggesting that DMK and AIADMK leaders would be arrested if Vijay came to power, calling such statements arrogant and irresponsible.Targeting Vijay’s post-result rhetoric, the VCK said the TVK chief should have shown magnanimity after victory instead of escalating political contradictions. It also questioned TVK’s attacks on “dynastic politics” while simultaneously seeking support from the Congress and parties aligned with the DMK-led alliance.“After victory, without sharpening pre-election contradictions, mr vijay should have handled matters with great magnanimity, earning the goodwill of all leaders to a large extent. But isn’t it wrong that the moment victory news arrived, he revealed arrogance and a vengeful mindset by declaring it the day the monarchy was ended? Is there any greater irony than shaking hands with the Congress—which bears the burden of dynastic politics from Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and now a fifth-generation heir—while lecturing on dynastic politics? After calling DMK an entrenched monarchy and then forming an alliance under DMK leadership to win, what kind of logical justification is there in shamelessly seeking support from the Leftists and VCK?” he asked.The party additionally criticised the return of “resort politics” in Tamil Nadu, alleging that TVK had begun confining MLAs in resorts rather than managing them through political understanding and dialogue.At the same time, the VCK accused the BJP of attempting to create conditions for Governor’s Rule in Tamil Nadu and urged people to remain vigilant against what it called efforts to destabilise the state’s democratic mandate.
