Vijaykanth's son takes swipe at BJP: 'Big only in social media debates'

Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam's (DMDK) Lok Sabha candidate from Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu and son of actor Vijayakanth, Vijaya Prabhakaran, said the BJP was not strong in rural areas in the state.

Speaking exclusively to India Today TV, Prabhakaran said, "It is always a two-way fight between the DMK and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. The BJP may be big in debates on social media, but when you go down the roots, to rural areas in the state, the BJP is not that strong."

The DMDK is contesting the elections in alliance with the AIADMK. All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu voted in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday. A 70% voter turnout was recorded.

Prabhakaran said the rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah wouldn't even have a "one per cent impact" on the voters in Tamil Nadu.

"I am not being offensive to the BJP, but just speaking facts. People from metropolitan cities may support K Annamalai or Modi, but when you go down towards the south of Tamil Nadu, people don't support the BJP," he said.

The Virudhunagar Lok Sabha seat consists of six Assembly constituencies - Virudhunagar, Sivakasi, Sattur, Aruppukottai, Tirumangalam and Tirupparankundram.

Prabhakaran said all the seats face varied problems. He said the main issue in the constituencies of Virudhunagar, Sivakasi and Sattur was the illegal firecracker factories functioning there. Several explosions have been reported at the firecracker factories functioning in these regions, killing many people.

He said that the constituencies of Tirumangalam and Tirupparankundram have demanded the setting up of an AIIMS and software parks in the area.

The DMDK leader said that civic woes were a major issue in the rural areas in the constituency.

When asked about Congress candidate from Virudhunagar Manickam Tagore's remark that the AIADMK was the "B team of BJP", Vijaya Prabhakaran said, "It is his last minute play because he knows he is going to lose."

He expressed confidence in replicating the performance of the 2011 Assembly elections in the state, when the AIADMK and DMDK alliance stormed to power, with J Jayalalithaa becoming the chief minister.

"We won in alliance with the AIADMK in 2011, and now we are going to replicate it. Our goal is 2026 and 2024 is the start," he said. The next Assembly election in Tamil Nadu is scheduled to be held in 2026.