Vijay's admirers asked to back DMK by fan club chief

When elections are here, die hard fans of ac tors Rajini kanth and Vijay anxiously wait to see if their icons come out with their stand. This time, `Illayathalapathy' Vijay might not have declared his stand openly , but his fan clubs across the state have received oral instructions from the state president to extend their support to the DMK. In the 2014 election, his fans are said to have beefed up BJP's numbers following the actor's diktat.
Vijay and his father S A Chandrasekar supported the AIADMK in 2011 elec tion at a time when the film fraternity was alleging that Karunanidhi's family was trying to dominate the industry .But, in the last five years, many of his movies like `Puli', `Thalaiva' and `Thuppakki' ran into rough weather. Income tax officials conducted a surprise check at Vijay's residence before the release of `Puli', in which the actor takes on a queen possessed by an evil spirit to free the people of the kingdom. Vijay fans say the actor and his father felt slighted by the AIADMK.
Given the multi-cornered fight in the upcoming elections, the support of the fans clubs that often stretch across the state can influence the outcome. “We have been asked to vote for the DMK in the assembly election. We received communication from state president Anand. Similar messages have been communicated to the registered fan clubs across the state,“ said a district-level functionary of Vijay fans clubs in Vellore.
Vellore District Vijay Fans Clubs president Velmurugan met DMK Vellore central district secretary and Anaicut candidate A P Nandhakumar on Wednesday. They extended their support to the party in the assembly election. “We along with our family will vote for the DMK, but we will abstain from campaigning,“ said one of Vijay's fans.
Of the young voters in the age group of 18 to 35, 3% can be considered hardcore fans of Vijay, said Sairam, a social media expert.“If Vijay gives an open statement, the fans will vote for the party that he announces,“ he continued.By making his decision informally , the `Theri' hero may have wanted to play it safe, just in case the poll outcome went against his wishes, he said.