What Does Vijay Overlook When He Hopes For A Repeat Of 1967 Or 1977?

AT the recent meeting to celebrate the first anniversary of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), its founder and actor Vijay, in his bid to counter naysayers and offer hope to party cadres about winning the 2026 Assembly elections, drew parallels with the historic victories of the DMK and the AIADMK in 1967 and 1977, respectively.

- S KUMARESAN @ Chennai

According to him, many point to TVK's inexperience and predominant presence of youngsters as factors that will impede their winning chances. Asking his cadres to ignore such skeptics, he said TVK will make history just as the DMK and the AIADMK did when they were new parties and their respective leaders - CN Annadurai (Anna) and MG Ramachandran (MGR) - were largely backed by youngsters.

However, what Vijay overlooks, perhaps deliberately, is the years of hard work, diligent planning and, importantly, the political mobilization that culminated in the landmark victories of the two parties in 1967 and 1977.

In 1967, the DMK became the first regional party in independent India to capture power in a state with clear majority. To stress that it was not an "overnight success" story would be an understatement.