The founder-leader of DMDK and well-known yesteryear Tamil actor Vijayakanth died in Chennai on December 28 following an illness. He was 71 years old. The party via social media informed on its official X handle the news of Vijayakanth being admitted to a hospital and put on ventilator support after he complained of difficulty in breathing.
His body was brought to his residence first and from there, it will be taken to the DMDK office shortly. In early November, Vijayakanth was admitted to MIOT Hospital in Chennai owing to his deteriorating health. He was under observation of doctors for 14 days as he was suffering from cough and throat pain.
Vijayakanth aka ‘Captain’ led a life marked by a successful career in the Tamil film industry where he featured in 154 movies before venturing into politics. He held a significant position at Nadigar Sangam (officially known as the South Indian Artistes’ Association (SIAA)), and brought revolutionary changes to the South film industry. The foundations of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam in 2005 was built by Vijayakanth.
In 2006, DMDK contested in all assembly seats and bagged a lowly 10 per cent of the total vote share. However, apart from the founder-leader, no other candidate managed to come out on the winning side. DMDK fought the elections in alliance with the AIADMK in 2011 and contested 41 constituencies. Out of which, they emerged victorious in 26. The Captain’s party held a page in history, winning more seats than the DMK in 2011 and came out as the principal Opposition Party that year.
Vijayakanth was the leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly from 2011-2016. However, owing to differences of opinion, the DMDK broke ties with the AIADMK. The result of which was bulk resignations of DMDK MLAs. The party, therefore, lost its status of being the main Opposition party.
Vijaykanth, twice served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly, representing the Virudhachalam and Rishivandiyam constituencies. The DMDK in alliance with the NDA contested the 2014 parliament elections but faced a huge loss and its vote percentage saw a significant drop as well.
The performance of DMK in 2016, 2019 and 2021 elections wasn’t good either as Vijayakanth battled health complications.
