Stalin avoids attacking Vijay in his own turf: Keeping post-poll alliance doors open or sign that TVK is not yet a threat?

DMK President Mr. M K Stalin on Wednesday bypassed any mention of TVK President Mr. Vijay during a high-decibel rally in Trichy, choosing instead to escalate his attack on AIADMK General Secretary Mr. Edappadi K Palaniswami. Although Mr. Vijay is a direct contestant in the Trichy East segment and has frequently targeted the DMK administration, Mr. Stalin refrained from responding to the actor-turned-politician’s rhetoric during his campaign stops in both Trichy and Karur. The Chief Minister centered his address on the ideological alignment between the AIADMK and the BJP, accusing Mr. Palaniswami of being a “stooge” of the saffron party while positioning the DMK as the sole protector of Tamil identity and minority rights against the Centre’s policies.

Stalin Labels EPS a Complete Sanghi over CAA

During the Trichy rally, Mr. M K Stalin described Mr. Edappadi K Palaniswami as a “complete Sanghi,” specifically targeting the AIADMK’s shifting stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Mr. Stalin told the Times of India that Mr. Palaniswami defended the CAA when it was introduced by the BJP but later termed it a “historical blunder” after parting ways with the NDA in 2024. Challenging the opposition leader’s courage, the Chief Minister asked whether Mr. Palaniswami currently supports or opposes the Act, asserting that the AIADMK and its ally PMK betrayed minorities and Sri Lankan Tamils by providing the legislative support the BJP required.

Silent Treatment Toward TVK’s Vijay in Trichy East

Observers noted a conspicuous lack of reference to TVK President Mr. Vijay, who is contesting from the Trichy East constituency. Despite Mr. Vijay consistently targeting Mr. Stalin and the DMK in recent speeches, the Chief Minister chose not to engage with the TVK leader’s rhetoric during the campaign. This silent treatment extended to Karur as well, where a TVK rally last year resulted in a stampede that killed 41 people. Prior to the main rally, Mr. Stalin conducted a walking tour through the busy stretches of Trichy with candidates Mr. K N Nehru (Trichy West), Mr. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi (Thiruverumbur), and Mr. Inigo Irudayaraj (Trichy East). Instead of addressing the new political entrant, Mr. Stalin spent his time interacting with the public in the Gandhi Market area and having tea at a roadside stall within the very segment Mr. Vijay is contesting.

Strategic Silence or Calculated Underestimation?

This deliberate silence by the Chief Minister could be observed as a clever two-pronged strategy. On one hand, it keeps the door open for a possible post-poll alliance with the emerging TVK if the numbers demand it. On the other, it signals that the DMK leadership may not yet view Mr. Vijay and his party as a serious enough threat to warrant direct engagement, choosing instead to focus fire on the AIADMK-BJP combine.

Tamil Identity and the Dakshin Pradesh Warning

Mr. M K Stalin accused the BJP of “avenging” Tamil Nadu for the party’s inability to win a single seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He alleged that if the NDA were voted back to power, they would not hesitate to rename the state “Dakshin Pradesh” to systematically remove its Tamil identity. To illustrate the AIADMK’s subservience to the BJP, the Chief Minister used a famous dialogue from the movie Padayappa, ‘Mappillai avar than aana avar pottrukka sattai enodathu’ (He is the groom, but the shirt he is wearing is mine). He defended the DMK’s past alliance with Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a development-focused pact, contrasting it with Mr. Palaniswami’s alleged “mortgaging” of state rights.

(With TOI inputs)