'Reels CM': Stalin's Dharapuram salvo turns the bypoll battle personal against Vijay

DHARAPURAM — The October 6 by-election battle turned sharply personal on Friday, as DMK president M.K. Stalin took the campaign trail in Dharapuram and branded Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay the "Reels" Chief Minister — a jibe at the TVK leader's cinema-star image that drew the loudest cheers of the evening. Addressing a public meeting in support of the DMK candidate, advocate S. Suganya, Stalin urged voters to give a "fitting reply" to what he called the arrogance of a chief minister "who lacks the support of the majority of the people". "Vote for the Rising Sun symbol on October 6th and ensure the victory of our sister advocate Suganya," he said, sharing a glimpse of the rally on X. "I have not come here merely to seek votes. I have come seeking justice," Stalin told the crowd, invoking the Amaravathi river, the town's historical significance, and Dharapuram's reputation for supplying quality paddy seeds to other regions. The sharpest barbs were reserved for Vijay himself. Referring to the chief minister's last film, Stalin said: "He acted in a film titled Jananayagan, but today he is acting like a villain to democracy." He accused Vijay of acknowledging his party's political proximity to the BJP — "He admitted that they are a branch of the BJP. He admitted that TVK is just a branch of the BJP. I am glad that he spoke that truth" — and charged that the TVK functioned more like a corporate organisation than a political party. "Behave like a Chief Minister, not a 'cheap minister'," Stalin said, accusing Vijay of gestures that had lowered the dignity of the Legislative Assembly. The DMK has thrown its heaviest artillery into the twin bypolls. Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi are campaigning alongside the party president, and Stalin is scheduled to take the campaign to Madurantakam on Saturday for party candidate I. Paranthamen. Stalin's roadshow in Dharapuram began near the Amaravathi statue before proceeding to the public meeting on Udumalai Salai. The Dharapuram contest is a three-cornered fight with an unusual backstory: TVK's P. Sathyabama won the seat on an AIADMK ticket, resigned from the Assembly in May and joined the ruling TVK, and now defends the seat in TVK colours against the AIADMK's K. Bhanumathi and the DMK's Suganya. Twenty-two candidates are in the fray in the reserved Tiruppur-district constituency. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami, campaigning for Bhanumathi, has accused Vijay of engineering the whole contest: "Vijay has stolen our MLA. They voted for the AIADMK's two-leaf symbol and elected her." Campaigning ends on October 4. Polling is on October 6; votes will be counted on October 9.