TVK: Newest unicorn in political startup map
The remarkable electoral debut of actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK, which is the front-runner to form the Government in Tamil Nadu, has put the spotlight on political ‘startups’, very few of which turned ‘unicorns’ instantly.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has followed in the footsteps of parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in moving to form the Government after its very first electoral outing.
While the AAP had formed the Government with the support of the Congress following its debut election of 2013, the AGP had formed a Government in 1985, soon after its formation, with the support of the successful independent candidates affiliated with the Assam movement. The TDP had swept the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls in 1983 with a huge majority, winning 201 seats, a year after its formation. However, not many political startups have turned unicorns, while some took time, others failed to leave an imprint.
Just last year, the Jan Suraaj bit the dust. There have been other parties also that created a strong buzz but failed to succeed at the hustings, such as actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam, which drew a blank in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls.
The TVK from the start created a strong buzz, and with several political ‘startups’ formed by movie stars doing well in the past in the South, there were high expectations from it in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls. The TVK has stunned one and all, causing a major political earthquake in Tamil Nadu by beating both DMK and AIADMK, the two main players in the State since decades.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, the TVK was leading in 107 seats, the ruling DMK in 58 seats and the AIADMK in 51. The majority mark in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls is 118.
There are several small ‘startup’ parties in Bihar, such as the Plurals party headed by Pushpam Priya Choudhary. Then there are small parties that have limited ambitions and survive in pockets, such as Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha. In Uttar Pradesh, there are parties like NISHAD Party, Peace Party, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP).
In India, parties keep getting formed and disappear after a poor showing at the hustings, hardly creating any buzz. But this could not have been said about Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj because it created more than a splash, with many predicting that it could emerge as the next Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Bihar polls. However, the media euphoria around it proved to be a mirage as the party was decimated at the hustings and failed to open its account in any of the 238 seats it contested.
If one looks at the political landscape of the country, there are six national parties — BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), National People’s Party (NPP), and AAP.
While the Congress arose from the freedom movement, the BJP arose from an ideology and gained from the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
The CPI(M) was built around ideology, the NPP was formed by a known politician who broke away from his parent party, the BSP was built around a social group, and the AAP emerged from the India Against Corruption movement.
Very few political ‘startups’ have done well. The AAP rose in 2012, and the regional Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982. The TDP, however, rode the popularity of movie star NT Rama Rao.
Parties that have emerged as regional powerhouses, such as West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and AIMIM in Telangana, have gained due to a known political figure who broke away from the parent party (Mamata Banerjee) or due to dynastic goodwill (Naveen Patnaik and Asaduddin Owaisi). Though AIMIM was formed much earlier, it gained popularity under Owaisi.
Other parties such as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) are also examples that fall in either of the two categories - breakaway factions or dynastic goodwill.
The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) was built around a movement for the protection of Dalits and has had limited success in Tamil Nadu.
But TVK’s poll debut could instil confidence in those toying with the idea of launching a political startup. After all, it has been a blockbuster political debut for TVK, and many would be inspired for a ‘remake’.
