After 15 days of despair, TVK chief Vijay discovered hope on Monday. For, Supreme Court docket ordered a CBI inquiry into the Karur stampede that killed 41 folks at his roadshow in Karur, Tamil Nadu, on September 27.

Listening to a number of petitions on Friday, the apex court docket had requested why a single-judge bench of Madras excessive court docket ordered an inquiry by a particular investigation workforce when a division bench of the Madurai bench of the identical excessive court docket had taken cognizance of the matter. It additionally puzzled how the govt. ensured that postmortem was carried out on all of the 41 our bodies inside 5 hours.

Vijay, nonetheless, remains to be at a crossroads. The Supreme Court docket has upped his stakes, but he ought to make an necessary determination quickly: Ought to TVK align with AIADMK. Because the launch of TVK, a gaggle inside has been pushing for this alliance. Their idea: The occasion ought to get energy on its debut, or it could not have the ability to maintain itself. And AIADMK, on which Vijay has been smooth whereas attacking DMK and BJP, is the one selection for an alliance. The hitch was who – Vijay or AIADMK common secretary Edappadi Ok Palaniswami – could be the chief minister candidate. Neither would conform to play the second fiddle, even when they needed to share the tenure.

With EPS opening his arms once more to Vijay within the aftermath of the Karur tragedy, the proposition for an alliance is again on the TVK desk. Seat-sharing and the CM put up would proceed to be obstacles for a attainable marriage of comfort, however what may make the choice tougher for Vijay is AIADMK’s tie-up with BJP – in any case, they name it NDA. Opportunism is an element and parcel of politics (in the event you don’t belief me, ask Kamal Haasan), however having sworn BJP as his ideological enemy whereas launching TVK, becoming a member of NDA would imply Vijay being opportunistic too early into his political profession.

What if BJP, in its insuppressible urge to defeat DMK “at any value”, makes a tactical exit from the AIADMK alliance to create space for TVK? The saffron occasion would achieve nothing for itself from this association apart from getting vengeful self-gratification of creating issues troublesome for DMK. Extremely hypothetical this will likely sound, however within the occasion of such a reconfiguration of the opposition, Vijay can have one motive much less to not be a part of palms with AIADMK.

However ought to Vijay yield to that temptation? Let me reproduce what I wrote on this column in November final 12 months: Vijay, 50, has age by his facet. Preventing the 2026 meeting election alone – or with some smaller gamers who’re keen to rally behind him – will assist him check his actual power. If TVK will get greater than 10% votes, anybody would take into account him as a lot a possible ally as a worthy opponent. Whether or not he wins a seat or not, he can make investments the following 5 years in constructing political heft by attracting some political veterans and promising kids who can kind a important core of the occasion which now has no massive title past himself. If Vijay is right here for the long term, he shouldn’t be an also-ran.

Would I alter something from that paragraph written nearly a 12 months in the past? Properly, only one factor: his age.

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