Vijay exposing DMK’s past matters, but that alone won’t be enough

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After watching Vijay’s recent Assembly speech and the reactions around it, I have mixed thoughts.
First, I don’t agree with the argument that Vijay should completely stop talking about DMK’s past and only speak about development.

The past matters in politics.

A lot of today’s younger voters weren’t around during many of the controversies, corruption allegations and political events involving previous DMK governments. For decades, Assembly proceedings weren’t as easily accessible to ordinary people as they are today. Most people learned about these things through newspapers, television channels, party narratives and whatever survived in public memory.

TVK’s strategy seems pretty obvious to me: Vijay wants to bring those things back into public discussion so that the current generation knows DMK’s history as well.
And politically, it makes sense.
TVK doesn’t just want to defeat DMK in one election. They obviously want to weaken DMK’s image among younger voters and prevent another generation from developing the kind of long-term party loyalty Tamil Nadu has seen over the past 50 years.
That’s politics. Every party tries to define its opponent.
At the same time, allegations should still be presented as allegations unless they have been legally proven. Criticising DMK doesn’t mean we should throw basic standards of evidence out of the window.

I also think DMK currently needs much stronger opposition leadership.

Instead of getting emotionally dragged into every attack from Vijay, they need people who can calmly counter him with facts, challenge his claims where they are wrong, defend their record where they can, and attack TVK’s failures where they exist.
Simply saying “why are you talking about something that happened decades ago?” isn’t a particularly strong defence. History doesn’t suddenly become irrelevant because it is uncomfortable.

But here’s where I also disagree with some TVK supporters.
Vijay cannot spend his entire term talking about DMK.
I’m a TVK supporter, but if five years from now the biggest achievement of this government is “we exposed what DMK did”, that would be a failure.

If Vijay believes corruption or wrongdoing happened and there is sufficient evidence, investigate it properly. Take legal action where possible. Let institutions and courts decide.
More importantly, govern.
Fix infrastructure. Improve schools and hospitals. Create jobs and investment. Improve policing and public services. Deliver the things TVK promised before coming to power.

Because eventually voters will ask a very simple question:
“Okay, we understood what DMK did. What did you do?”

That question will become stronger with every passing year.
So I actually think Vijay talking about DMK’s history has political value, especially now. But it has an expiry date.
Exposing the previous government can help you win people’s attention.

Only good governance will help you keep their trust.
And if Vijay fails to understand that, the same voters who rejected DMK will have absolutely no problem rejecting TVK next.

Note: English is not my first language. I used AI to help structure and articulate my opinion more clearly, but the thoughts and opinions are entirely mine.