Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. | Photo credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
BJP’s Tamil Nadu Election Commissioner and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C. Joseph Vijay had no understanding of the people of Tamil Nadu, their culture and politics.
Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport, Mr. Goyal said that many film stars had entered (politics) in the past and were rejected by the people of Tamil Nadu. “MGR (MG Ramachandran) and Jayalalithaa ji were veteran politicians and after many years of service to the people they became Chief Ministers. I think he (Mr Vijay) is living a dream. He is very popular among his fans. But this popularity will not lead to votes as we have seen in the case of Vijayakant and Kamal Haasan.”
Mr Goyal said Mr Vijay’s political entry was “another effort which is likely to get him a few votes”. He said he did not think TVK would cross even three or four seats in Tamil Nadu. The minister highlighted DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin’s repeated claims that the upcoming elections were a fight between Tamil Nadu and Delhi, that this was evident from the fight between the DMK and the Congress.
He said the division of seats between the components of the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was smoothly resolved. “Two corrupt parties, DMK and Congress, joining hands and coming together is not what the people of Tamil Nadu want. People want Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Center and Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s government in the state. Such a twin engine government will bring double prosperity and double good governance to the people of Tamil Nadu,” he added.
Later at Kamalalayam, the BJP headquarters in Chennai, Mr. Goyal and senior party leaders released an “indictment” against Mr. Stalin’s DMK government. He said the BJP was shocked to see an increase in the number of cases of sexual harassment of women and cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act in the last five years. He also alleged that some DMK councilors and youth wing functionaries were accused of sexual assault. Yet the DMK did not take action against them, he said.
Published – 01 Apr 2026 0:59 IST
