00:00Let's get you the latest updates coming in from Battleground Tamil Nadu.
00:04We're weeks away from what promises to be an intense election.
00:09And amid that, the focus is on the newcomer, TVK, Vijay.
00:13There's been a lot of questions about who he'll ally with, who's going to be on his side.
00:17What the TVK has confirmed now is that they're going so low.
00:21Zero alliance, no alliances shaped up whatsoever in the run-up to this election.
00:26So all 234 seats, Vijay will contest.
00:29As TVK will contest alone.
00:31Imagine this.
00:32Neither the DMK nor the AIA-DMK, who have been ingrained in Tamil Nadu politics for the last many, many
00:39years, for decades really,
00:40have never gone solo in the sense that they also ensure allies, all 234 seats, to fight for the DMK
00:47and AIA-DMK, even for them, is unheard of.
00:50And yet Vijay has said that he and his party will not ally with any side, not even smaller parties,
00:56because they've all essentially picked a side at this point.
00:59And now Vijay is left with no option but to fight all 234 seats.
01:03But this is a challenge for the TVK.
01:06Why?
01:07Because first of all, this is a new party.
01:09Where are you going to find candidates for all 234 seats?
01:13You don't have enough ground presence either.
01:16And that is one of the biggest challenges for the TVK.
01:18After all, boot level management is crucial in an election.
01:22They don't have any organizational base.
01:25A fan club, a fan association cannot transition into an election machine for a political party.
01:31There's also shortage of resources and campaign funds.
01:34There's one man essentially funding the entire political party and all 234 candidates to some extent.
01:41And so there is going to be a lack of resources as well.
01:44Ongoing legal battles could also distract from the elections, which is why even, for example,
01:50in the Karoor Stampede case, you've had a request from Vijay saying,
01:53let's further grilling by the CBI happen in Chennai.
01:56I have pole duties to look after.
01:57There's no ally to rely on.
02:00Also, star power, yes, works to some extent, but it doesn't necessarily translate into votes.
02:06Now, what the ideal combination for a Vijay for TVK would have been experienced party plus star power.
02:12In this case, he's choosing not to go with that combined, choosing only to rely on his star power
02:19and hope that that translates into him winning an election 234 seats all alone.
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