‘Under pressure but…’: Vijay's party says won't align with BJP for Tamil Nadu polls

“They tried to apply pressure in many ways. It has even gone to the extent of CBI inquiry and stalling of Vijay's film (Jananayagan),” party gen secy says

Published on: Feb 20, 2026, 18:20:35 IST

Written by Aarish Chhabra

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Actor-politician Vijay-led TVK on Friday claimed that the Centre's ruling BJP has been putting pressure on it for an alliance in the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. "Earlier, they (BJP) were not exerting pressure. It is only now that they have begun to do so," Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) general secretary (policy and propaganda) Arun Raj said in Madurai, as per news agency PTI.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay during a party event in Salem, Tamil Nadu. (PTI File Photo)

He stressed that the new party would not forge an alliance with the BJP.

“They tried to apply pressure in many ways. It has even gone to the extent of CBI inquiry and stalling of Vijay's film (Jananayagan). You (media) know what happened,” Arun Raj said.

Vijay had appeared before the CBI in Delhi on January 12 for questioning in a probe into the stampede at his rally in Karur last year.

Arun Raj referred to Vijay's remarks from a party event in Mahabalipuram, where Vijay ruled out any alliance with "communal forces", a reference to the BJP.

"It takes courage to declare that the ruling parties both at the Centre and the state are enemies," Raj said, also referring thus to the ruling DMK which has an alliance with the Congress.

Raj was responding to a query about why Vijay was not seen directly criticising the BJP.

In his reply, he referred the party's debut conference of late 2024, where Vijay laid out a clear distinction between his "ideological enemies" and his “political rivals”.

Vijay had identified the BJP as his party’s primary ideological opponent. He characterised the BJP’s politics as "divisive" and “communal”, contrasting it with TVK’s core ideology of “secular social justice”.

The DMK was indirectly targeted as the “political enemy”. Vijay accused the party of "hiding behind the Dravidian model" while engaging in "underground deals" and family-centric politics.

Vijay has also been vocal against policies like ‘One Nation, One Election’ and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), viewing them as an encroachment on state rights and federalism.

Vijay has stated that TVK would follow the paths of BR Ambedkar and Periyar EV Ramasamy.

At the time, Vijay had preemptively dismissed allegations that he was a "B-Team" for the BJP. He asserted that TVK is an independent force that would not be a proxy for any national or state-level established player.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aarish Chhabra
Aarish Chhabra is an Associate Editor with the Hindustan Times online team, writing news reports and explanatory articles, besides overseeing coverage for the website. His career spans nearly two decades across India's most respected newsrooms in print, digital, and broadcast. He has reported, written, and edited across formats — from breaking news and live election coverage, to analytical long-reads and cultural commentary — building a body of work that reflects both editorial rigour and a deep curiosity about the society he writes for. Aarish studied English literature, sociology and history, besides journalism, at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and started his career in that city, eventually moving to Delhi. He is also the author of ‘The Big Small Town: How Life Looks from Chandigarh’, a collection of critical essays originally serialised as a weekly column in the Hindustan Times, examining the culture and politics of a city that is far more than its famous architecture — and, in doing so, holding up a mirror to modern India. In stints at the BBC, The Indian Express, NDTV, and Jagran New Media, he worked across formats and languages; mainly English, also Hindi and Punjabi. He was part of the crack team for the BBC Explainer project replicated across the world by the broadcaster. At Jagran, he developed editorial guides and trained journalists on integrity and content quality. He has also worked at the intersection of journalism and education. At the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, he developed a website that simplified academic research in management. At Bennett University's Times School of Media in Noida, he taught students the craft of digital journalism: from newsgathering and writing, to social media strategy and video storytelling. Having moved from a small town to a bigger town to a mega city for education and work, his intellectual passions lie at the intersection of society, politics, and popular culture — a perspective that informs both his writing and his view of the world. When not working, he is constantly reading long-form journalism or watching brainrot content, sometimes both at the same time.Read More

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