NEW DELHI: Amid the continuing deadlock over government formation in Tamil Nadu, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) on Friday launched a strong attack on actor-politician Vijay’s TVK, accusing the party of seeking support through WhatsApp messages instead of holding direct political consultations with leaders.Despite emerging as the single largest party in the high-stakes assembly elections, TVK chief Vijay has so far failed to claim the chance to form the government, with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar rejecting him twice for lack of a clear majority.
In a strongly worded statement, the VCK questioned Vijay’s political handling of the post-election situation and accused his inner circle of misleading him. The party said Vijay should have personally met party leaders whose support he sought instead of relying on informal communication.“Shouldn’t Vijay have met political leaders face to face and openly discussed the need to stop the BJP from entering Tamil Nadu through the Governor?” said VCK general secretary Sinthanai Selvan in a post on X, criticizing what he described as a casual approach to coalition building.The party also objected to reports that support was sought through WhatsApp messages asking leaders to “respond and let us know”, calling it politically inappropriate during a constitutional crisis.“How are we going to understand sending a letter on WhatsApp asking for support and then saying ‘respond and let us know’?” he wrote.The VCK further accused some second-tier TVK leaders of exploiting Vijay’s popularity and hero image while using him to settle scores with the DMK. He also criticized comments allegedly made by some TVK leaders suggesting that DMK and AIADMK leaders would be arrested if Vijay came to power, terming such statements as arrogant and irresponsible.Attacking Vijay’s post-result rhetoric, the VCK said the TVK chief should have shown magnanimity after the victory instead of intensifying political contradictions. He also questioned TVK’s attacks on “dynastic politics” and at the same time sought support from the Congress and parties aligned with the DMK-led alliance.“After the victory, without sharpening the pre-election contradictions, Mr. Vijay should have handled matters with great magnanimity, largely earning the goodwill of all the leaders. But is it not wrong that the moment the news of victory came, he revealed arrogance and a vindictive mentality by declaring it on the day the monarchy ended? Is there greater irony than shaking hands with the Congress, which bears the burden of dynastic politics since Motilal? Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and now a fifth generation heir, while lecturing on dynastic politics, after calling the DMK an entrenched monarchy and then forming an alliance under the leadership of the DMK to win, what kind of logical justification is there for blatantly seeking support from the leftists and the VCK he asked?The party also criticized the return of “resort politics” in Tamil Nadu, alleging that TVK had started confining MLAs in resorts instead of managing them through political understanding and dialogue.At the same time, the VCK accused the BJP of trying to create conditions for the governor’s rule in Tamil Nadu and urged people to remain vigilant against what it called efforts to destabilize the state’s democratic mandate.