By Dharani Balasubramaniam

Copyright timesnownews

In a massive public outreach campaign, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam Chief and Actor Vijay is all set to travel to all the districts in Tamil Nadu ahead of 2026 assembly elections in the state. Vijay’s state wide yatra will begin from Trichy on September 13 and end in Madurai on December 20. Vijay will primarily be meeting the people on Saturdays, except for one Sunday in Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tirupur and Erode districts. The yatra has three main objectives. Understand the day-to-day concerns of the common man, propagate the ideologies and principles of TVK among people and strengthen the party’s grassroot level presence. Top leaders of the party have been claiming that their internal surveys predict a solid 25% vote share in favour of them. “Thalapathy’s state tour will boost this number further,” a party insider told Times Now. Commenting on the yatra, former Tamil Nadu BJP Chief K Annamalai termed Vijay a ‘Weekend Politician’. “Politics is a 24/7 job. If TVK takes its politics seriously, Vijay should be accessible and available to the people 24/7, all days of a week. But Vijay says he will meet the people only on Saturdays and Sundays. It raises questions about the party’s seriousness towards politics. If TVK declares that the contest in 2026 is only between them and DMK, the same energy should be reflected in the ground. People won’t trust them otherwise,” Annamalai told while addressing the media in Madurai yesterday. Meanwhile, preparations are on full swing in Trichy for the yatra’s launch. TVK initially wanted a public meeting to be held near Chatram Bus Stand in the city. As police refused to permit the same citing potential inconvenience to public, TVK’s General Secretary for Election Management Aadhav Arjuna alleged that the DMK government is deliberately creating hurdles for their yatra using the police department. “The DMK government which takes the campaign tours of other political parties lightly, is intentionally creating roadblocks against ours. This clearly indicates that the DMK’s fear over TVK and our leader Vijay is at its peak. They are unable to digest the rising popularity and growth of TVK,” Aadhav Arjuna stated on social media platform ‘X’. Sources tell Times Now that the Trichy police have now given permission for Vijay’s public meeting to be held in Marakkadai Junction, another buzzing spot in the city. Ever since the Tamil Superstar launched his party in February last year, the Dravidian majors DMK and ADMK have been dismissing him as an ‘untested commodity’ in Tamil Nadu’s political spectrum. The ADMK’s ally BJP too has echoed similar opinions on multiple occasions. However, Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam Chief TTV Dhinakaran recently stated that Vijay will create an impact in 2026 assembly elections like that of Vijayakanth in 2006. “Vijay’s entry will affect all the political parties. This is my prediction based on news reports and analysis,” Dhinakaran told. Late Actor Vijayakanth launched his political party Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) in 2005. Although the party was able to win only one seat in the 2006 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, it ate into the vote share of both DMK and ADMK to a considerable extent. Subsequently, Vijayakanth went on to become the Leader of Opposition in 2011 as J Jayalalithaa stormed to power. After Vijayakanth’s unfortunate demise in 2023 due to ill health, his wife Premalatha has taken control over the party.