It may be time for Thirumavalavan to lead alliance in 2031: VCK general secretary
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
A perception has emerged among the second-line leadership of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) that it may be appropriate for party president Thol. Thirumavalavan to work towards heading an alliance ahead of the next Assembly election in 2031.
On Monday, a video showed Mr. Thirumavalavan travelling on a black sedan car bearing the number plate “TN 07 CM 2031”. VCK treasurer S.S. Balaji said the social media was awash with “slander” after the video went viral. He clarified that the video was part of a shoot held for an event in EVP Film City on September 19.
VCK general secretary D. Ravikumar said it was his “personal opinion” that “time may perhaps be right for the VCK to face the 2031 election with Mr. Thirumavalavan as the Chief Ministerial candidate”.
Mr. Ravikumar said there was a growing perception that VCK had now attained its oft-repeated political goals of gaining recognition as a State party by the Election Commission (EC) and share in power.
“The VCK has pursued different political goals at different points in its history. Initially, we boycotted elections altogether. Then, we put forward the demand that our political party should be recognised. In 2016, we contested the elections with the demand for a share in power in the State government. When we could not secure recognition from the EC in 2019, we achieved it in 2024,” he said.
While Mr. Thirumavalavan has said, hereafter, no party would be able to form a government on its own and a coalition government would be the norm henceforth, Mr. Ravikumar said the unexpected election results, which produced a hung Assembly, had led to a coalition government.
“There is a perception that the VCK’s goals have been achieved. At a time when we are facing the possibility of the implementation of delimitation and women’s reservation, which could have significant political ramifications for Tamil Nadu, the time may be right for the VCK to face the 2031 election with our leader as our Chief Ministerial candidate. He is the only charismatic leader with a strong ideological commitment and intellectual clarity,” he said.
Another senior leader from the party disagreed with the decision to become a part of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s Cabinet.
“Our leader’s charisma is derived from the moral stance that he has taken time and again — not being swayed by power. After we legitimised TVK, CM Vijay, and joined the Cabinet, some of his moral sheen was lost. If a share in power is all that the party wants, then we can justify forming an alliance even with the BJP. Today, the party’s only political goal will be to hold onto what we have,” he said.
“Not even the Left would accept our leadership and support his Chief Ministerial ambitions. That is the hard and simple truth,” he added.
Incidentally, by his own admission, Mr. Thirumavalavan was offered the position of Chief Minister, supported by the DMK, the AIADMK and its allies, after the hung verdict.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
