Actor-politicians and their crusade against corruption

Actor and TVK founder C. Joseph Vijay’s anti-corruption plan is nothing new as film stars who organized their own parties in Tamil Nadu have taken up the same theme to make a name for themselves and garner huge votes. M G Ramachandran said that after forming the ADMK (later AIADMK) in 1972, DMK leaders rejected the demand for disclosure of assets by party members. When asked about Prime Minister M. Karunanidhi’s statement that he had been given time to “express regret”, MGR said he would have no regrets as long as he lived. Instead, DMK leaders should express their regrets, he added.

When he landed in Coimbatore in November, the police had a hard time as party members broke through barricades and attacked the plane he landed on. He announced at a public meeting in Tiruppur that the ADMK-CPI agitation would “paralyze” the DMK government. When he asked the crowd if they were ready to make any sacrifice to remove the corrupt and bureaucratic DMK from power, the crowd responded unanimously in the affirmative.

When Jayalalithaa launched her faction AIADMK (Jayalalitha) in 1989 after the death of her mentor MGR, she promised a clean and efficient government in her election manifesto. “A new era began in Tamil Nadu politics with MGR remaining in office for 11 years. But after he fell seriously ill in 1984, there was chaos and confusion and people around him exploited his physical inadequacy. Following his death, the corrupt elements remained in a faction and the responsibility of continuing MGR’s struggle fell on the AIADMK (Jayalalitha). The party’s commitment to the voters will be. In the manifesto, MGR’s rule is for the welfare of the people.” It was said: “It is dedicated.

Corruption accusations

However, her first government (1991-96) faced numerous corruption charges, and Jayalalithaa herself was eventually sued for acquiring wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income. While her close aide VK Sasikala went to jail, the charges against Jayalalithaa were “mitigated” following her death.

DMDK founder Vijayakant was another advocate of fighting corruption. The actor-turned-politician said he will not rest until he completely puts an end to the “injustice” inflicted on the people by the two main Dravidian parties (DMK and AIADMK) over the years. During his campaigns in 2006, he often stuck to his slogan, his favorite theme being corruption by Dravidian majors. “The fight against the British vellaiyane veliyeru [the Quit India Movement]. It’s time to fight off the corrupt forces, so Kollaiyane veliyeruwas the slogan “”. He attacked DMK and AIADMK as evil forces. However, in the 2011 Assembly elections, he allied with the AIADMK and became the Leader of Opposition.

‘Between good and evil’

Ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections, he was leading a new alliance called the People’s Welfare Front. He said both DMK and AIADMK have been cheating people for decades. “This is a battle between the good and the evil,” he said, terming the third front an alternative to the corrupt parties. “My alliance is with the people” was his slogan from the moment he founded his party in 2005.

Coming to the present day, Mr. Vijay has remained firmly committed to his anti-corruption campaign, mainly targeting the ruling DMK. This February, he likened the criticism against him to those MGR faced when he formed the AIADMK in 1972, and mocked the DMK and other parties for repeating the criticism that he was a political novice. He framed the 2026 election as a contest between TVK and DMK and BJP-led parties. While introducing the party candidates, he declared that the contest was between the TVK and the “dangerously corrupt” DMK.