A grand event was organised on Wednesday to celebrate the box office success of Thalapathy Vijay’s latest film, Leo. But it was Vijay’s fiery speech at the event which made headlines the next day as the Tamil star dropped hints about his political entry.
2026 is the year when the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections will be held and when Vijay was asked to talk about 2026 on stage, Vijay replied, “2026-The year coming after 2025 (laughs). The year in which the football World Cup is going to take place.” The anchor then asked him for a serious answer. Vijay replied, “Cuppu mukkiyam bigiluuu! (The cup is important)”, seemingly referring to the Tamil Nadu elections.
In recent weeks, there has also been news that his fan club, Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyyakam (TVMI), will become his political launch vehicle. The TVMI contested the 2021 civic polls in Tamil Nadu and won 115 seats out of the 169 it contested. Currently, it is reported that the TVMI is busy appointing booth officials across all the districts in the state, among other activities.
At the function on Wednesday, Vijay added, “Tamil cinema has given us many stars. Puratchi Thalaivar—he is only one man. Nadigar Thilagam—he is only one man. Puratchi Kalaignar is only one man. In the same way, Ulaganayagan is only one man. Superstar is only one man. Thala is only one man! You all know the meaning of Thalapathy right. He is right below the king and will obey all the orders. You are the kings; I am right below you and will continue to be.”
The big question is when will Vijay announce his entry into politics. Political analyst Sumanth Raman said, “There is still 2.5 years for the elections. He has to announce his political entry within the next few months instead of dragging on the suspense for years like what Rajinikanth did. That will not help him.”
On Thursday, BJP leader K. Annamalai was asked by media about Vijay’s likely political entry in 2026 and he replied, “Like I have always stated—anyone, including Vijay, is welcome to politics and put forth an ideology to the people. We need to give the people a choice of parties—that is what democracy is about. Instead of one party, it’s better to have six parties. The system will change when new people come into politics. Ultimately, it is the people of Tamil Nadu who will decide.”