Stampedes at political rallies, religious congregations, sports events, railway stations, and events attended by famous personalities are not new in India. Scores of people have died in these stampedes. But stampede deaths have been a rarity in political rallies.
What happened in Karur in Tamil Nadu on 27 September was the first stampede in which a large number of people were killed. Forty-one men, women, and children were crushed to death in a rally of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), a party founded and led by actor Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, popularly known as Vijay.
M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) was the first actor to become the Chief Minister of a state in India. There was a time when people waited for MGR not for hours but for days. Indian media has pointed out that there had been no disaster like the one that occurred at Vijay’s meeting. This was because of the organisational strength of MGR’s party and the presence of politically experienced leaders and workers even in remote villages.
A failure of political leadership potential
It is widely perceived that the TVK is a political outfit that believes only in Vijay’s cinematic popularity. He also has no proper political ideas or ideology. It has been alleged that the main reason for the deaths in Karur was that Vijay’s party men did not have the experience and ability to organise massive political gatherings in a safe manner and that he didn’t focus on converting his fans into disciplined party workers.
With seven months to go for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Elections, it seems that the participation of hundreds of thousands of people in Vijay’s campaign rallies has rattled other parties including the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Vijay’s detractors have been openly saying that the crowds gathering to see him for his cinematic attraction will not translate into votes during elections.
None of the political parties in Tamil Nadu paid heed to Vijay’s calls to come forward to form an electoral alliance. Hence, he seems to have concentrated on proving his popularity by mobilising people in large numbers for his campaign rallies. Evidently, he adopted a tactic of delaying attendance deliberately at rallies until thousands of people had gathered.
It is also alleged that TVK functionaries did not pay attention to making suitable preparations to prevent the recurrence of such a dangerous situation even after the unprecedented crowd gathering at some of their campaign meetings before the Karur meeting.
It is deplorable that Vijay got out of his campaign vehicle and flew back to Chennai in his private plane. Neither he nor his party leaders visited the families of the deceased to console them, nor did they visit the injured in hospitals.
Vijay’s act of expressing his sympathy on social media four days later through a 4.5 minute video showed that he was still a film actor and had not transformed himself into a political leader who cared for the well-being of the people.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, his ministers, and leaders of other parties immediately rushed to the hospitals where the injured lay, but Vijay, who announced that he would postpone his campaign for two weeks, did not meet the affected people. Only after the Chief Minister’s announcement of compensation of Rs. 1 million each to the families of the deceased did Vijay think of the necessity of helping the people who had lost their loved ones and announce Rs. 2 million as compensation.
The manner in which Vijay conducted himself after the tragedy faced by the people who were waiting in the scorching sun without food or water all day to see him has proved that he has failed miserably in the first test of his political leadership potential. He has still not admitted that he was wrong and has not tendered an apology to the people. His behaviour was as if he was returning home after suspending a film shoot.
A politician with wisdom and concern for the welfare of the people would certainly be behaving in stark contrast to Vijay. He should have acted along with his party men to control the chaos at the disaster site and help the affected people.
Vijay’s evolving prospects
It’s easy to be wise after the incident. Politicians and the media are now offering advice on steps to be taken so that people attending political campaign meetings are not affected.
Chief Minister Stalin, who has announced that he will hold consultations with political parties and public organisations to formulate rules and regulations to ensure that there is no crowding at public events like the one in Karur, has appointed a one-man commission consisting of a retired High Court Judge to probe causes of the tragedy. He said action would be taken on the basis of the commission’s report.
Vijay, who has already held rallies for his party in five districts, has questioned how things happened in Karur alone, as if there was a conspiracy.
There is no doubt that the ruling DMK and other parties will use the Karur incident as much as they can to ensure that Vijay’s party does not pose a major challenge to them anymore. Vijay’s political prospects depend on how he deals with the crisis and how his political opponents use it to their advantage.
No clear political agenda
Apart from Vijay’s lack of experience and responsibility for the crisis, he has been making disturbing pronouncements since he launched his party in February 2024.
Terming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and the DMK in the State as his political enemies, Vijay said that E.V. Ramasamy, commonly known as Periyar, was one of his ideological icons. While praising B.R. Ambedkar’s ideals, Vijay pledged to follow K. Kamaraj’s policies even though he distanced himself from the Congress Party, a long-time ally of the DMK.
The grand cut-outs of former Chief Ministers C.N. Annadurai and MGR adorned the venue of the TVK’s Madurai conference on 21 August. It seems that by doing so Vijay is trying to give a message to the people of the State that the Dravidian parties have lost their way and that he is showing a new path.
Pointing out that the DMK came to power in 1967 under the leadership of Annadurai, defeating the Congress Party which had been in power in the State until then, and that MGR’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) came to power defeating the DMK under M. Karunanidhi in 1977, Vijay said that history was going to repeat itself at the 2026 Legislative Assembly Elections.
Considering the fact that Annadurai and MGR came to power after a long period of political life and experience with immense dedication, it is ridiculous that Vijay, who entered politics one-and-a-half years ago and who still does not have a strong party network or dedicated cadres, is saying that he can repeat the feat of former popular Chief Ministers.
A political novice such as Vijay must grasp the truth that history doesn’t rewrite itself for political slogans. He dreams of becoming chief minister in another seven months with no clear political agenda.
An unhealthy culture
The Karur disaster has once again exposed an unhealthy culture that has become deeply entrenched in Tamil Nadu’s political firmament as a result of the obsessive devotion of people to filmstars.
As a senior journalist and a political analyst has pointed out in The Hindu after the Karur tragedy, it is unfortunate that a State that boasts of great strides in economy, education, and social justice is a slave to cinematic blockbusters and their stars.
“Anyone can enter politics. But it is unfortunate that only in Tamil Nadu do all those who act in films arrogate themselves the right to enter the field simply because they had essayed roles in which they were seen saving people and fighting tooth and nail for justice. And when that happens, ideologically inclined people and those dedicated to public causes simply look on. They are left with no choice but to throw their hands in despair,” the journalist further lamented.
(The writer is a senior journalist based in Colombo)
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the official position of this publication)