At Erode rally, Vijay – testing his bond with the crowd – casts DMK as his principal foe

“Kalingarayan had the courage to build,” Vijay said, adding that such courage, according to legend, came from the confidence instilled by his mother. “There is nothing greater than the courage we get from our mothers. With that courage, anything is possible.” He paused as the crowd applauded. “That courage,” he continued, “is what you are witnessing in me today – the courage given by my mothers, my sisters, my elder sisters, and my comrades.” As applause again disrupted his speech, he added, “And now, I get the same courage from all of you.”

Turning to his political opponents, Vijay said attempts were being made to stop him by spreading defamatory stories. “They are thinking how to destroy this,” he said. “How to stop it. What all stories can be cooked up against Vijay? How to show Vijay as faulty and make people believe it.” But, he said, his opponents did not understand the nature of his connection with the public.

“This is not a quick connection,” Vijay said. “This is not something I earned recently. This is a bond of thirty to thirty-three years.” Recalling his entry into cinema as a child actor, he said he was ten years old when he first came before the public. “They don’t know that this relationship with people did not begin now,” he said. “So whatever you try against me, Vijay, who has come here abandoning everything he had, will not be alienated from the people.”

“People are standing with me,” he added. “People are going to stand with me.”

He then directly addressed the crowd. “Am I right or wrong?” he asked, drawing a loud response. “I have come here with utmost trust in you. Will you abandon me?” As the crowd roared in reply, Vijay smiled and waited. “Yes, yes,” he said. “This sound, this response – for my whole life, I will be thankful to you.”

Returning to the Kalingarayan story, Vijay described how legend spoke of a snake lying across the land near Bhavani, where the dam was built, and how the zigzag path taken by the snake was followed to design the canal, conserving water for drinking and irrigation. During this segment, he paused to address a youth who had climbed a pole near the stage, repeatedly asking him to climb down. When the youth responded with flying kisses, Vijay said he would return the gesture only after the youth climbed down, drawing laughter and applause as the youth complied.

Referring again to governance, Vijay said those who built dams and canals centuries ago did so with deep concern for people’s welfare. “In the 21st century,” he said, “we don’t see that thinking.” He asked why the Athikadavu–Avinashi scheme, which he said would benefit lakhs of people across three districts, had not been implemented. “Can’t you show even a fraction of concern to improve ordinary people’s lives?” “Are you running a government,” he asked, “or a make-believe show?”

The speech then moved explicitly toward the ruling DMK. Vijay said Erode was also the birthplace of Thanthai Periyar, whom he described as a leader who demanded reservation for the oppressed nearly a century ago. “Periyar is our ideological leader,” Vijay said. He said C N Annadurai (founder of DMK) and M G Ramachandran drew their political values from Periyar and that both leaders belonged to the shared political heritage of Tamil Nadu. “Nobody has the right to sit and cry claiming monopoly over Anna or MGR,” he said. “If you are not afraid of TVK,” he asked, “why are you so nervous?” He accused his opponents of nitpicking and said their behaviour resembled fear disguised as confidence. “Do you think people are fools?” he asked. “People are not fools.”

“What protects you,” he said, addressing the ruling party, “is the huge money you have looted. What protects me is this mass and their unconditional love.” Referring again to Periyar, Vijay said the social reformer did not accumulate wealth for himself. “But people who use his name today are doing all kinds of things,” he said. He urged the DMK to stop, in his words, looting people’s money using Periyar’s name.

He then asked the crowd, “Who is our political enemy?” When the crowd shouted “DMK,” Vijay repeated the question and paused. “Who is our ideological enemy?” The crowd responded, “BJP.” He repeated both questions and answers, then said, “This much understanding is more than enough.”

Returning to local issues, Vijay said the government had done nothing for turmeric farmers in Erode and asked whether manifesto promises had been fulfilled. He accused the government of forcing people to fight for basic needs, citing power tariff hikes and their impact on small industries and trades. He questioned why power was being purchased from private players, alleging tender-related interests.

“They (DMK) say model governance,” he said. “Don’t you feel ashamed to make such claims?” Anticipating criticism of his speech style, Vijay said his opponents dismissed his remarks as “cinema dialogue” or complained that he spoke only briefly. “What is your problem if I speak for a few minutes?” he asked. “Why do you even bother about my speech? Talk about the content.”

Going district to district and raising people’s issues, he said, was politics. “If that is not politics, what is?” he asked. “Is politics only about talking ill of others?”

Vijay said he was not opposed to welfare schemes and did not call them freebies. He criticised DMK leaders for describing such schemes as charity. “My people should live with dignity and respect,” he said. “They are not lesser than anyone.” When critics asked how his promises would be delivered, Vijay said, “I am not DMK to sell false dreams. This is TVK.”

He questioned claims that housing had been provided to all, asking whether rented houses no longer existed in the state, and accused the government of twisting his words and spreading rumours.

Reflecting on past political rhetoric, Vijay said he once wondered why leaders like MGR and Jayalalithaa had described DMK as an “evil force.” “Now I understand why,” he said. He then declared, “DMK is a theeyya sakthi,” repeating the phrase multiple times as the crowd echoed him. “TVK,” he said, “is a thooyya sakthi (pure force).”

“This fight,” he said, “is between the evil force DMK and the pure force TVK.” Responding to a recent remark by Chief Minister M K Stalin questioning Vijay’s character, he said his own speeches were dismissed as cinematic, while the Chief Minister’s words were treated differently. “How do I understand you, sir?” Vijay asked, questioning governance on law and order, women’s safety, and unfulfilled promises. “One thing is sure,” he said. “You, ruling the state, and they, ruling the Centre, have to understand my character. My character is the character of the people.” “If you don’t understand,” he said, “the people will make you understand in 2026.” Concluding his speech, Vijay said, “Everything that is going to happen will be good. Victory is sure.” He thanked the crowd and appealed to them to return home safely.

More than 30,000 people attended the public meeting organised at a ground in Erode, which was attended largely by people in the age group of 20s and 30s, including women.