May 22, 2026 12:30 pm IST

Opinion: TVK Dismantles Dravidian Stereotypes Without Disturbing Tamil Political Positions

A young Brahmin man, with or without any political background, winning a seat in Tamil Nadu and subsequently becoming a minister, does not fit the established template of Dravidian politics.

TM Veeraraghav TM Veeraraghav Columnist

TM Veeraraghav Columnist

During the last election campaign, I met 31-year-old S Ramesh in the Srirangam assembly constituency. He was contesting the election and featured as the TVK voice in our show on the Delta districts.

To be honest, I was unimpressed. He lacked the conventional traits of an "election-winning" candidate - there was no charismatic oratory, no imposing aura, no formidable caste backing, and very little political acumen or experience to speak of. To my mind, Ramesh and his friends were just a bunch of enthusiastic youngsters campaigning for a party simply because they were die-hard fans of the movie star who founded it. It didn't even cross my mind that he stood a chance of winning, even though I was certain the TVK would perform better than expected, and its top leadership would secure their seats. Simply put, despite anticipating that the TVK would become a political force, I completely wrote off Ramesh.

I even gave him some unsolicited advice, suggesting he include his own professional credentials in campaign pamphlets that, at the time, featured only Vijay. In a very candid on-camera conversation, he confidently claimed that he was going to win, and so would "all other TVK candidates." I smiled, dismissing it as the standard,........

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