Before there was a party, there was a fan club, and Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay wants the Tamil Nadu Assembly to remember what it did. On Tuesday, 23 June 2026, in his first detailed speech in the House, he went back to 2008.
The Statesman reported that he dated his fan club’s public activity to that year, when it held protests in support of Sri Lankan Tamils. Welfare schemes followed in 2009. A fishermen’s meeting came in 2011, then involvement in the Jallikattu and Sterlite protests, scholarships for students and statements against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The Times of India carried his own words on the later items. “In 2011, we organised a public meeting in support of fishermen and voiced our concerns on their behalf,” he said. “We extended our support to the Jallikattu protest. We personally visited and supported the Sterlite protest.” Scholarships and incentives went to meritorious students. “After all this,” he said, “we launched the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.”
From fan clubs to a party
The speech came during the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s address, on the final day of the first session of the 17th Assembly, which opened on June 18. Critics had kept questioning his legitimacy because of his film background, The Statesman noted.
The paper added some numbers. In July 2009, Vijay organised his fan clubs, reportedly around 85,000 across Tamil Nadu, under a welfare association called Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, or Vijay’s People Movement. TVK was formally launched on 2 February 2024. Vijay presented the years in between as proof that his politics was not opportunistic.
His summary was blunt. “When we were functioning as a fan club, we stood by the people,” he said. Then: “Most people start a political party first and then go to the people. We went to the people first and only then started our party. Those who fail to understand this are the ones who dismiss us as merely an actor’s party.”
He also spoke of the “reel” jibe directly. “Some people say that I came directly from a film shooting set to become Chief Minister. In their own language, I would say that is just a ‘reel’,” he said, as reported by both papers. TOI quoted him adding that in the 2026 election TVK contested alone without any alliance.
Vijay closed by asking Speaker JCD Prabhakar for permission to perform a cinematic gesture, similar to one former Chief Minister MK Stalin had made in the House. Members on the treasury benches applauded.
Sources
- Vijay fires back at 'reel CM' jibe in Assembly speech, points to 85,000-strong fan club legacy – The Statesman
- 'Mocked as actor's party': Tamil Nadu CM Vijay's 'reel' to real speech in assembly – The Times of India
