DMDK Founder Vijayakanth Passes Away At 71, PM Modi Expresses Grief Over Death Of Tamil Cinema Legend

New Delhi: Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) founder-leader and actor Vijayakanth, succumbed to Covid-19 in Chennai at the age of 71 on Thursday, following a positive test result.Vijayakanth was hospitalized and placed on ventilator assistance due to respiratory difficulties he experienced.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief over the demise of Vijayakanth who was Widely known as 'Captain'. Taking to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), PM wrote, "Extremely saddened by the passing away of Thiru Vijayakanth Ji. A legend of the Tamil film world, his charismatic performances captured the hearts of millions. As a political leader, he was deeply committed to public service, leaving a lasting impact on Tamil Nadu’s political landscape. His passing leaves a void that will be hard to fill."

Extremely saddened by the passing away of Thiru Vijayakanth Ji. A legend of the Tamil film world, his charismatic performances captured the hearts of millions. As a political leader, he was deeply committed to public service, leaving a lasting impact on Tamil Nadu’s political… pic.twitter.com/di0ZUfUVWo — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 28, 2023

Vijayakanth's life is marked by a successful career in the Tamil film industry. He featured in 154 movies before venturing into politics. While holding a position at Nadigar Sangam (officially known as the South Indian Artistes' Association (SIAA)), Vijayakanth brought revolutionary changes to the South film industry.

He founded Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazgam in 2005. In 2006, DMDK contested in all assembly seats and bagged a lowly 10 per cent of the total vote share. However, none of the party's candidates, apart from the founder-leader came out on the winning side.

In 2011, DMDK fought the elections in alliance with the AIADMK and contested 41 constituencies, winning 26. The Captain's party scripted history, winning more seats than the DMK in 2011 and emerged as the principal Opposition Party that year.

Vijayakanth served as the leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly from 2011-2016. Later, owing to differences of opinion, the DMDK broke ties with the AIADMK, resulting in bulk resignations of DMDK MLAs.

The party, therefore, lost its status of being the main Opposition party. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly twice, representing the Virudhachalam and Rishivandiyam constituencies.

The DMDK contested the 2014 parliament elections in alliance with the NDA but faced a huge defeat and its vote percentage saw a significant drop. In the 2016, 2019 and 2021 elections, the DMDK didn't perform well as Vijayakanth battled health complications.