logo
On Actor Vijay's Poll Alliance Snub, Tamil Nadu BJP's 'Common Goal' Reply

On Actor Vijay's Poll Alliance Snub, Tamil Nadu BJP's 'Common Goal' Reply

NDTV8 hours ago
New Delhi:
Tamil actor-politician Vijay said 'no' last week to possible alliances with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party or ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam before next year's Assembly election.
Vijay - whose fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam will make its electoral debut in 2026 - said he would never join hands with the BJP, which he called "our policy enemies and divisive forces", or Chief Minister MK Stalin's DMK, which he accused of being 'secretly owned" by the former party.
The BJP, however, appeared undeterred by Vijay's putdown.
On Monday the party's Tamil Nadu unit boss, Nainar Nagenthiran, told reporters the "common goal between us (i.e., the BJP and TVK) is that the DMK should not be in power".
"I suggested an alliance based on that shared idea. Ever since the BJP and AIADMK (the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the DMK's arch-rival) reunited... DMK is obviously worried."
Chennai: On actor and TVK chief Vijay's recent statement of not allying with any party, Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran says, "The common goal between us and Vijay is that the DMK should not be in power. I had suggested unity based on that shared idea. Ever since the… pic.twitter.com/wENmY0pwf8
— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2025
"That is why they push the 'B-team' narrative..." Nagenthiran declared, referring to Tamil Nadu ministers' counterclaims in October last year linking Vijay's TVK and the BJP. Those claims came after the actor said his main 'enemies' were the BJP at the centre and DMK at the state levels.
Vijay's entry into Tamil Nadu politics has stirred the pot before the 2026 election.
The 51-year-old superstar is not expected to win the 118 seats needed to form the government, but is expected to hoover up enough votes (and seats, maybe) to make it difficult for either the ruling DMK (and its ally, the Congress) or the opposition AIADMK (and the BJP) to do just that.
Nagenthiran's appeal to Vijay (last week and today) underscores the BJP's sentiment on this issue; "They (the TVK) should decide who shouldn't come to power and take a call accordingly... they should analyse who would benefit from such a decision (not allying with the BJP)."
The BJP's ally, the AIADMK, remains equally welcoming of Vijay; party boss E Palaniswami said Saturday, "All those who wish to oust the DMK from power are welcome to join the alliance."
The BJP and the AIADMK were thumped by the DMK in 2021; EPS' party won 66 seats and the BJP just four, compared to the 133 swept by Chief Minister Stalin's party and the Congress' 18.
Popular Tamil actor Vijay is his party's chief ministerial candidate (File).
The DMK-Congress alliance picked over 45 per cent of the votes.
Last year's Lok Sabha election was even more of a thumping; the DMK and Congress won all 31 seats they contested and picked up eight more courtesy smaller allies.
The BJP and AIADMK - contesting independently after a temporary break-up - won zero.
To stop the DMK from winning a second consecutive term, the BJP and AIADMK need something extra, a boost of popularity and votes that, they hope, will come from Vijay's TVK.
Meanwhile, the DMK has been more dismissive of Vijay's 'no'; the party's senior leader, Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi, said, "The announcement may have come as a shock to some... but the people are clear about who their enemies are. All the best, but victory belongs to the DMK."
With input from agencies
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bengal man facing Assam NRC heat shows parents' vote proof
Bengal man facing Assam NRC heat shows parents' vote proof

Time of India

time37 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Bengal man facing Assam NRC heat shows parents' vote proof

1 2 Jalpaiguri: Cooch Behar resident Uttam Kumar Brajabashi, who received an NRC notice from the Assam govt asking him to prove his Indian citizenship by July 15 or face deportation, produced documents on Monday which showed that his parents, Narendranath Brajabashi and Sabitri, were voters in Dinhata. In Jan, 50-year-old Brajabashi received a notice from Assam govt accusing him of being an illegal immigrant who entered India through the Bangladesh border between 1966 and 1971. The notice claimed Brajabashi was unable to present required documents during police verification. North Bengal development minister Udayan Guha, who has stepped in to help Brajabashi, said on Monday: "Brajabashi was born in 1975. Surprisingly, the Assam govt asked for his documents from 1966 to 1971. We have asked him to not pay heed to the notice. We will stand by him and provide him support." You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata A Rajbanshi from Sadiyaler Kuthi in Dinhata's Chowdhury Haat, Brajabashi has claimed he had never left Cooch Behar in his life or travelled outside Bengal. "Brajabashi is an Indian Bengali from Bengal. How can a man born in 1975 have documents from before that? This is ridiculous and unacceptable," he said. Trinamool Congress, in a statement, said: "The BJP-governed Assam govt has now sent an NRC notice to Uttam Kumar Brajabashi, a man who has never even visited Assam. He possesses documents showing that his father's name was included in the 1966 electoral roll. How does Assam govt send such an undemocratic notice to one of our Rajbanshi brothers."

Nadda appoints Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma as Punjab unit's working president
Nadda appoints Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma as Punjab unit's working president

Indian Express

timean hour ago

  • Indian Express

Nadda appoints Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma as Punjab unit's working president

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday appointed Ashwani Kumar Sharma, an MLA from Pathankot, as the working president of its state unit. BJP national president J P Nadda made the appointment. Sharma, 61, is a seasoned party leader who has served as the state BJP president twice in the past — from February 2010 to January 2013 — and again from January 2020 to July 2023. His role as state BJP chief was under scanner during his last stint as it was a time when farm laws were passed by the central government, which led to major agitation, with Punjab being the epicentre of protest. State BJP leaders were at the receiving end of the Punjab farmers. In September 2020, the SAD also parted its ways with the BJP over the now repealed farm laws. While Sharma takes over as the working president, Sunil Jakhar continues to serve as the president of the Punjab BJP. Jakhar, who had joined BJP in May 2022 after quitting the Congress, was appointed state president in July 2023, succeeding Sharma. However, after the Lok Sabha polls, Jakhar had offered to resign, but the BJP high command did not accept his resignation. Sources revealed that though Jakhar had become somewhat inactive for a few months, he continued to raise key issues concerning Punjab and was seen with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on multiple occasions — including at a family event in Delhi this March. In recent months, Jakhar has once again become more active in the state's political landscape. Party insiders note that under BJP norms, a state president's term usually lasts three years, which means Jakhar's tenure is likely to continue till July 2026. Whether Sharma's appointment will lead to a change of guard remains to be seen. Interestingly, sources pointed out that the party has not traditionally had a working president in Punjab and only a state president used to be appointed. The move gains significance as it comes at a time when the party's Punjab affairs in-charge, Vijay Rupani, tragically died in a plane crash in Ahmedabad last month, leaving that key post vacant. The Pathankot MLA, a dedicated RSS member and a founder member of the BJP in Punjab, is being seen as a representative voice for the party's original cadre. A former member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — the BJP's student wing — during his college days in Pathankot, Sharma has served in multiple key roles including as general secretary of Punjab BJP from 2007 to 2010. An experienced legislator, he won the Pathankot Assembly seat in 2012 and again in 2022, losing only once in 2017 to Congress's Amit Vij. Recently, he was also handling the campaign of BJP candidate Jiwan Gupta in the Ludhiana West bypoll where the party finished third.

Opposition united in SC on SIR: 'Will snatch votes of lakhs'
Opposition united in SC on SIR: 'Will snatch votes of lakhs'

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

Opposition united in SC on SIR: 'Will snatch votes of lakhs'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear challenges by Congress and and 10 other opposition parties, including DMK and NCP (Sharad Pawar), to the 's decision for special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Appearing before a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A M Singhvi and Gopal Sankarnarayanan pleaded to the court to grant an urgent hearing as the revision process had already started and lakhs would be disenfranchised if the exercise was not stayed. They said the squeezed timeline fixed by the EC was impractical and it was impossible to complete the process in such a short span of time. After a brief hearing, the apex court agreed to examine their plea and posted it for Thursday (July 10). are likely to be held in November. The petitions have been filed on behalf of Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), CPI, CPM, CPI (ML), DMK, SP, Shiv Sena (UBT), JMM and RJD. Besides, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, NGOs - Association for Democratic Reforms and People's Union for Civil Liberties - and a few residents of Bihar have also filed petitions against the EC's drive. The petitioners took the identical stand that the timeline fixed by EC was not practical and would lead to disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters, particularly migrant workers and people from marginalised communities who do not have requisite documents and may not be able to procure it within the short span fixed by EC. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal posted on X: 'It (SIR) has wreaked havoc across villages and towns of Bihar — giving crores of voters anxiety about whether their right to vote will be stolen. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This is mass-scale rigging and mischief being carried out by EC, under instructions from ruling regime.' RJD MP Manoj Jha sought direction to EC to conduct the forthcoming polls in Bihar on the basis of the existing electoral rolls. Though at present SIR is confined to Bihar, parties apprehend that it could be replicated in other states too. Moitra urged SC to restrain EC for undertaking such an exercise. 'The impugned order is discriminatory, unreasonable and manifestly arbitrary and violates Articles 14, 21, 325 and 326. The order is a tool of institutionalised disenfranchisement. It is submitted that it is being used to justify aggressive and opaque revisions of electoral rolls that disproportionately target Muslim, Dalit and poor migrant communities, as such, they are not random patterns but it is engineered exclusions. The present SIR process is not only hasty and ill-timed, but has the effect of disenfranchising crores of voters, thereby robbing them of their constitutional right to vote. Moreover, this exercise has been launched during monsoon season in Bihar, when many districts are affected by floods and local population is displaced, thereby making it difficult and almost impossible for a large section of population to meaningfully participate in the process,' Jha said in his plea. Seeking the court's direction to set aside the EC's order, Moitra in her petition, filed through advocate Neha Rathi, submitted that the order unlawfully shifted the burden of proving eligibility from the state to the individual elector and arbitrarily excludes commonly accepted identity documents such as Aadhaar and ration cards. PUCL, in its petition through advocate Talha Abdul Rahman, questioned EC's timing, alleging Bihar's massive migrant population faces systematic exclusion as workers lacking local address proofs struggle with complex procedures from distant locations, possibly missing compressed timelines due to work commitments.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store