Is BJP Rolling Out Red Carpet For TVK’s Vijay After The Karur Stampede?

The September 27 Karur stampede tragedy that killed 41 people while attending Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay’s political rally has already fueled political storm in Tamil Nadu. While DMK has been highly critical of Vijay for mismanagement and negligence, the BJP reaction to the tragedy has raised eyebrows: is the saffron party giving a red carpet welcome to the actor-turned-politician?

Vijay, in his first video statement three days after the tragedy, condemned the incident and offered condolences but refuted any personal or organisational lapse. He said that the location was selected with police assistance and blamed the ruling DMK for exploiting the tragedy as an act of political revenge. Vijay’s remarks, however, were condemned as “arrogant” and attention diversion from accountability by DMK leaders, and the party organ Murasoli described his ₹20 lakh compensation to each victim as a “political stunt” to eclipse the Chief Minister’s ₹10 lakh relief.

Is BJP Having a Soft Corner for Vijay?

Significantly, whereas DMK has been extremely critical of Vijay, the BJP has struck a considerably softer note. Party sources state that the BJP approached TVK leadership soon after the Karur tragedy, expressing solidarity at the time of political targeting. Senior BJP functionaries are said to have cautioned Vijay to be patient and wait out the investigation process, suggesting that the saffron party would utilise the popularity of the actor to reinforce its political influence in Tamil Nadu before the 2026 Assembly polls.

BJP national leaders, MPs Hema Malini, Anurag Thakur, and Tejasvi Surya, also came to Karur as a part of a fact-finding team, but their attack continued to be against the DMK government’s mismanagement and not against Vijay himself. BJP Tamil Nadu unit president K. Annamalai blamed the ruling party for crowd management failure, with the stress that security and logistics were the state’s concern, and cited inadequate police deployment during the rally.

BJP’s Principal Target: DMK, and not TVK

Experts are of the opinion that the BJP strategy reflects its principal target: the DMK. By raising questions over so-called administrative failures and systemic flaws in the Stalin administration, the party is framing the Karur tragedy as an attack on DMK’s rule and not on Vijay or TVK. Meanwhile Vijay at his Madurai Maanadu openly said that BJP is TVK’s ideological enemy.

BJP believes it has a chance to unite opposition votes, especially by joining hands with an emerging force in the form of TVK, without directly upsetting its coalition with the AIADMK. Political strategists are convinced that Vijay’s mass popularity combined with the organisational muscle of AIADMK can prove to be a winning combination for the NDA in the complex Tamil Nadu scenario.

This calculated approach also keeps BJP away from being labeled as opportunistic without enabling it to claim moral high ground, holding the ruling government responsible for “gross negligence” that led to the tragedy. While investigations by the Madras High Court and a Special Investigation Team are ongoing, BJP appears resolute in using the Karur incident as a political vehicle against DMK instead of being a critique of Vijay.

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