With a hug, Tamil Nadu CM Vijay, MK Stalin write a new chapter on political civility

CHENNAI: Change was at the core of TVK president C Joseph Vijay's election campaign. After his first day in assembly as chief minister on Monday, he signalled a pleasant change in political civility by visiting DMK president M K Stalin and other party leaders at their respective homes.The warm gesture brought smiles across party lines. But the day started with a ‘cold war' as DMK legislative party leader Udhayanidhi Stalin did not even look at the CM, as on the day before Vijay had criticised the previous govt for accumulating huge debt and leaving the state treasury "empty".Hours later, however, as Vijay walked into Stalin's Cenotaph Road house, at the door was Udhayanidhi, waiting to receive the special guest with a hug. The CM and his predecessor too embraced, marking a positive deviation from bitterness that had marked TN politics for long.Holding his hand, Stalin took Vijay to the visitor's room where they spoke for about 15 minutes. Udhayanidhi, who was seated next to Vijay, gifted the CM a book titled ‘Kaalathin Niram Karuppu Sivappu', a collection of essays on DMK's history and Dravidian ideology. TVK general secretary N Anand accompanied Vijay and senior DMK leaders were present at Stalin's house.Later, Stalin described the meeting as a gesture of political courtesy. "I extended to him my heartfelt congratulations as well as my advice," he posted on X.The meeting marked the first known instance since 1967 of a newly sworn-in Tamil Nadu chief minister visiting a former chief minister at his residence immediately after assuming office. Leaders DMK as well as other parties lauded the initiative. "Tamil Nadu continues to show India how democratic culture must function," said Congress MP Manickam Tagore.From Alwarpet, Vijay travelled to Anna Nagar to meet MDMK general secretary Vaiko and MP Durai Vaiko at their residence. "He is the first chief minister to visit my home," Vaiko told reporters after the meeting. During the interaction, Vaiko introduced the workers at the house to Vijay, saying they too voted for TVK. He then visited the houses of PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss and NTK leader Seeman. Vijay is likely to travel to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman, besides Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. "For a chief minister entering office after a campaign built on anti-establishment messaging, the meetings are helping shape a second image — that of a leader seeking to build cooperation across political divides soon after assuming power," said political analyst R Chandrasekaran.