"Shall I take a selfie with Erode?'' 

This expression of interest was articulated by actor-turned-politician Vijay at the end of his speech at a public meeting in Erode. Under normal circumstances, it would mean nothing more than an attempt to pamper his fans fawning over him. But in Erode, it meant a sigh of relief that the lessons of Karur had been learnt, both by his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and its supporters. In September, 41 people died in a stampede at the TVK public meeting venue in Karur. Vijay came under attack for the manner in which the meeting had been conducted there, and his abrupt and immediate departure to Chennai. The party's political campaign schedule went into cold storage. In Erode, even though the police ensured that the TVK followed 80-plus conditions before allowing it to conduct the meeting, it was not surprising that Vijay still told the 35,000-strong crowd that had thronged the Vijaymangalam toll plaza venue in Perundurai, "You have come here safely, go home safely. Your safety is most important to me.''

That the post-Karur Vijay was more vigilant was obvious when, during his speech, an activist climbed atop a makeshift structure. Vijay cajoled him to come down, and when the person complied, Vijay thanked him with a flying kiss. While the charm offensive........

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