Months after deadly stampede at his public rally in Tamil Nadu's Karur, actor-turned-politician Vijay on Thursday launched a blistering attack against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), calling it an 'evil force.'

The term was often used by the late AIADMK stalwarts MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa to target the ruling party.

In contract, he called his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) a 'pure force,' adding that the contest, apparently the 2026 electoral fight, is now confined only between these two forces.

Vijay said this while addressing a public meeting in Erode. This was his first public outreach in Tamil Nadu after the stampede at Karur rally on September 27. The incident had left 41 persons dead.

Vijay had held a closed door meeting with a select audience in Kancheepuram after the tragedy and had addressed a rally at neighbouring Puducherry.

Referring to late Chief Ministers MGR and Jaylalithaa, he said they often described DMK as a "theeya sakthi" (evil force). His TVK was a "thooya sakthi," (pure force).

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"The contest is now between the thooya sakthi TVK and theeya sakthi DMK," he said in an apparent reference to the 2026 Assembly polls.

The actor-turned-politician Vijay also alleged a smear campaign was launched against him by vested interests. He added that Annadurai and MGR were inspiration for everyone and that they are not an individual property. "None can complain against us for invoking them," he asserted.

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He slammed the MK Stalin-led DMK government on issues including law and order and agriculture. Speaking about leaders joining his party, Vijay added that more leaders would come to the party fold and they would be given their due recognition.

Addressing the rally, TVK Leader KA Sengottaiyan said,"When we see this sea of people, it is clear that this is the gathering that will create history by making Vijay the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu tomorrow....For the people of Tamil Nadu, the one who will rule the state tomorrow is ‘Puratchi Thalapathi’ Vijay. No one can change this reality, and today’s scenes in Periyar’s land prove it....If we say we saw a revolutionary leader in history, today we are witnessing a revolutionary commander."

With PTI Inputs