New Delhi, May 4: The stunning electoral debut of actor-turned politician Vijay’s TVK, which is the front-runner to form the government in Tamil Nadu, has put the spotlight on political ‘startups’, very few of which turned ‘unicorns’ instantly.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has followed in the footsteps of parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in moving to form the government after its very first electoral outing.
While the AAP had formed the government with the support of the Congress following its debut election of 2013, the AGP had formed a government in 1985 soon after its formation with the support of the successful independent candidates affiliated with the Assam movement.
The TDP had swept the Andhra Pradesh assembly polls in 1983 with a huge majority, winning 201 seats, a year after its formation.
There have been other parties also that created a strong buzz but failed to succeed at the hustings such as actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam, which drew a blank in the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly polls.
The TVK from the start created a strong buzz and with several political ‘startups’ formed by movie stars doing well in the past in the South, there were high expectations from it in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls.
The TVK has stunned one and all, causing a major political earthquake in Tamil Nadu by beating both DMK and AIADMK, the two main players in the state since decades.
However, not many political startups have turned unicorns, while some took time, others failed to leave an imprint.
Just last year, the Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj bit the dust. Interestingly, Kishor had reportedly helped TVK in strategising for the polls.
Former Congress leader and political analyst Sanjay Jha said Vijay’s victory tells one that startups in India can remain very optimistic and though Prashant Kishor may have had a difficult time in Bihar, it does not mean that experiments should not continue or that experiments cannot succeed.
“TVK’s victory is a spectacular debut and is a manifestation of the fact that the voters are seeking change especially when they believe that there may be a governance deficit,” he told PTI.
In Tamil Nadu, both the main parties — DMK and AIADMK — have been in a bipolar contest and have led alliances where they were the central force, he pointed out.
“We have seen that attempts by both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan to break into politics of Tamil Nadu using their celluloid charms have not worked. Therefore, it is more astonishing that an organisation formed two years ago and by somebody who does not have a core base unlike the other two or a clear ideology, wins in this manner,” he said.
The victory for Vijay by a massive margin is a message that the people of Tamil Nadu were seeking a change from both the DMK and AIADMK.
“I don’t think this has to do just with love in Tamil Nadu for film stars, it has to do with people looking at world of higher expectations from politicians. Clearly people were not satisfied with the DMK,” he said.
Jha said Vijay’s victory is more important than AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi as Tamil Nadu is a bigger state, he was taking on two big rivals and he hasn’t had the benefit that Kejriwal had nationwide attention of the media.
According to the Election Commission website, the TVK was leading or had won on 108 seats. The majority mark in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls is 118.
There are several small ‘startup’ parties in Bihar such as the Plurals party headed by Pushpam Priya Choudhary. Then there are small parties that have limited ambitions and survive in pockets such as Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
In Uttar Pradesh, there are parties like NISHAD Party, Peace Party, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP).
If one looks at the political landscape of the country, there are six national parties — BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), National People’s Party (NPP), and AAP.
While the Congress arose from the freedom movement, the BJP arose from an ideology and gained from the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
The CPI(M) was built around ideology, the NPP was formed by a known politician who broke away from his parent party, the BSP was built around a social group and the AAP emerged from the India Against Corruption movement.
Very few political ‘startups’ have done well. The AAP rose in 2012 and the regional Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982. The TDP, however, rode the popularity of movie star N T Rama Rao.
Parties that have emerged as regional powerhouses such as West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and AIMIM in Telangana have gained due to a known political figure who broke away from the parent party (Mamata Banerjee) or due to dynastic goodwill (Naveen Patnaik and Asaduddin Owaisi).
Other parties such as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) are also examples that fall in either of the two categories — breakaway factions or dynastic goodwill.
The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) was built around a movement for the protection of Dalits and has had limited success in Tamil Nadu.
But TVK’s poll debut could instil confidence in those toying with the idea of launching a political startup. After all, it has been blockbuster political debut for TVK and many would be inspired for a ‘remake’. (PTI)
