“Is Tamil Nadu CM Vijay’s TVK Pushing A ‘Christianity First’ Agenda?”, News 18, August 12, 2026.
“The churn in Tamil Nadu politics is now extending to ideology. A new dogma is now being mainstreamed or spouted from an unlikely pulpit, unlikely only because the group professes to swear by Constitutional secularism.
For TVK’s founder, Vijay Joseph, who is also the Chief Minister of the state, the Constitution is gospel. This we know because he says so himself. And so it’s a little surprising that TVK appears increasingly comfortable drawing Christianity into its political theatre.
Consider these examples. In December 2025, Vijay took it upon himself to narrate the biblical story of Joseph at a Christian outreach event. In doing so, he identified himself squarely with his religion of choice in his capacity as Chief Minister.
In the Dravidian-sculpted political landscape of Tamil Nadu, Chief Ministers have hesitated to wear their religion on their sleeves. Even the irrepressible J. Jayalalitha drew a line between personal faith and official duties.
If Vijay had been in the BJP and openly played the Hindu card, he would almost certainly have been accused of practising the Christian version of “soft Hindutva”.
In May 2026, the baton passed onto Vijay’s party colleagues. Then TVK MLA Mustafa said TVK entered the fray to “abolish Sanatan”. Now, Vijay’s minister says Christianity taught him what Tamil could not. And TVK MLA and Tamil Nadu Speaker participated in a march by Christian conservatives denouncing the right to abortion, a hard-fought women’s right……………..”
Read the full article at News 18.
