06/05/2026
Vijay and the rise of new parties
The spectacular rise of Tamil actor Vijayโs Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu has once again underlined one of democracyโs most enduring patterns: the sudden collapse of ageing political orders and the rapid rise of entirely new parties.
To observers, such upheavals often appear dramatic and unexpected. In reality, they are usually years in the making. Beneath the surface, societies change faster than political systems. New aspirations emerge, identities harden, frustrations accumulate and institutions slowly lose legitimacy. Then, almost overnight, voters abandon the old order.
New parties rarely rise simply because they are โbetter.โ They rise because established parties stop appearing relevant. Over time, old formations begin to look corrupt, dynastic, elitist, culturally stale and disconnected from ordinary anxieties. Voters stop voting for them and start voting against them.
Political scientists describe this as a โrepresentation vacuumโ โ a moment when large sections of society no longer feel emotionally represented by existing parties.
Tamil Nadu itself remains one of the clearest examples of such a transformation.
Before the rise of the Dravidian movement, politics in the state was dominated by the Indian National Congress and upper-caste administrative elites. But post-Independence Tamil society was changing rapidly. Anti-Hindi sentiment, backward caste assertion, Tamil linguistic pride, urbanisation and cinema culture were reshaping public consciousness. Congress failed to absorb these changes emotionally.
Into that vacuum stepped the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and later the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. (AIADMK) These were not merely new parties. They represented an entirely new social coalition, welfare imagination and cultural identity. Tamil pride itself became political power.
That pattern repeats globally.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party fused nationalism with welfare politics and anti-London sentiment. In Quebec, the Parti Quรฉbรฉcois mobilised French linguistic identity and regional pride. In Catalonia, regional parties built mass support around Catalan identity and autonomy.
Identity politics is often misunderstood purely as emotional symbolism. In reality, it is frequently about dignity, recognition and representation โ the feeling that โpeople like usโ finally have political voice.
Communication revolutions also play a decisive role in the rise of outsider politics.
The Dravidian movement mastered cinema decades before the digital age. Leaders such as M. G. Ramachandran, M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa bypassed traditional elites through film dialogues, songs and emotional symbolism.
Every major communication shift in modern history has produced political disruption. Newspapers rewarded eloquence and moral argument and played a role in the rise of Abraham Lincoln, Tilak and Gandhi .Radio in the 1930s later rewarded voice and emotional intimacy empowering fascists like Hi**er and Mussolini .Television rewarded charisma and visual performance and leaders like Ronald Reagan, Bhuttos and Narinder Modi .Social media rewards speed, outrage and virility fuelling outsider movements across the world in the 2010s including Aam Aadmi Party.Todayโs algorithm-driven ecosystem rewards personality, outrage and emotional mobilisation.
Donald Trump turned celebrity culture and social media confrontation into political capital in the United States. Volodymyr Zelenskyy moved directly from entertainment into politics in Ukraine. Italyโs Five Star Movement used digital mobilisation to challenge traditional parties.
India has repeatedly witnessed similar disruptions.
N. T. Rama Rao transformed Telugu pride into the Telugu Desam Party and destroyed Congress dominance in Andhra Pradesh within months. Arvind Kejriwal converted anti-corruption anger into the Aam Aadmi Party. Nationally, the Bharatiya Janata Party expanded by reorganising Hindu identity, nationalism, aspirational classes and lower OBC groups into a durable electoral coalition.
Punjab too has repeatedly experienced political waves.
The historic rise of the Shiromani Akali Dal emerged from Sikh assertion and regional identity politics. Decades later, Aam Aadmi Party swept Punjab by exploiting anger against corruption, dynastic politics and the exhaustion of the CongressโAkali binary. Periodically, Punjabโs politics also witnesses smaller surges around Panthic assertion, farmer movements and anti-establishment mobilisation.
At the centre of most breakthrough movements stands a charismatic outsider figure.
Such leaders rarely behave like conventional politicians. They speak and dress differently , attack elites directly, appear emotionally authentic and project themselves as embodiments of public frustration. Hugo Chรกvez in Venezuela, Emmanuel Macron in France , Kejriwal in Delhi, Amritpal in Punjab all emerged as symbols of rupture against tired establishments.
Crises often accelerate this process. Economic distress, corruption scandals, inflation, social anxiety or institutional paralysis psychologically loosen old loyalties. After such moments, electorates become far more willing to experiment.
Post-Soviet Eastern Europe witnessed an explosion of new parties after communist collapse. Podemos rose in Spain after the financial crisis. Syriza surged during Greeceโs austerity collapse. En Marche! emerged amid distrust of traditional French parties. AAP swept Punjab after the Farmers agitation.
This broader context explains why Vijayโs rise matters beyond Tamil Nadu.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam represents far more than another celebrity-led experiment. It combines cinema charisma, fan-club networks, digital campaigning, meme culture, anti-establishment sentiment, welfare rhetoric and Tamil identity politics into a single political vehicle.
Unlike earlier cinema icons, Vijayโs politics is deeply tied to the algorithmic age. His campaign mobilised youth and first-time voters through social media ecosystems rather than traditional cadre structures alone. He positioned himself as an alternative not only to the Bharatiya Janata Party but also to the decades-old DMKโAIADMK duopoly.
In many ways, TVK represents the Dravidian model updated for the digital era.
And history suggests this cycle will continue.
Democracies periodically move through the same stages: stability, stagnation, public frustration, outsider mobilisation and establishment replacement. Eventually, the disruptors themselves become the establishment and face the same accusations they once weaponised against older elites.
That cycle can be seen from Tamil Nadu to Punjab, from France to Latin America, and even in the United States.Democracy, ultimately, renews itself through disruption.
06/05/2026
02/05/2026