As Vijay floats political party, a list of others who tried before him

Actor Vijay political party: The 49-year-old actor issued an official statement saying that his newly-floated party would be contesting the 2026 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu

Popular Tamil actor Vijay stepped into the world of politics on Friday, announcing the launch of his political party, "Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam." On the initiative, the actor remarked that politics was not yet another vocation but "holy public service."

The 49-year-old actor issued an official statement saying that his newly-floated party would be contesting the 2026 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.

However, Vijay is certainly not the first in the film industry to foray into the world of politics. In the past, many celebrities have tried to channelise their on-screen charisma to political appeal in a bid to turn their fans into voters.

While some emerged victorious in their electoral pursuits, some chose to permanently exit the arena, citing that it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Here's a list of popular celebrities who launched political parties:

1) NT Rama Rao, the former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, is among the most popular celebrities to have launched a successful political career. The award-winning actor, producer, and director launched the 'Telugu Desam Party' on 29 March 1982. At present, the party, headed by former state CM N Chandrababu Naidu, is the main opposition in Andhra Pradesh.

2) Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran or MGR is another highly successful south Indian film personality in the world of politics. He began his political journey with the Congress party and later joined the 'Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam' in 1953. However, he was expelled from the DMK following the death of its founder C N Annadurai in 1969. Three years later, he founded the 'All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam'. He served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu thrice during his political career.

3)One of the most popular actor-directors in Karnataka, Upendra Rao, floated his political party 'Uttama Prajaakeeya Party' in September 2018. The party contested the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections across all the constituencies in Karnataka but did not win any. Notably, the UPP is Rao's second bid to politics. In 2017, he launched the 'Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha' but later quit it due to differences with the party leaders.

4)Tamil actor Vijaykanth, who passed away at the age of 71 last month, founded 'Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam' (DMDK) in 2006. He served as an MLA twice, representing the Virudhachalam and Rishivandiyam constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

5)Telugu superstar Pawan Kalyan, who began his political career in 1996, launched his own party, JanaSena, in March 2014.

6)Notably, Pawan Kalyan is the younger brother of noted cinema star K Chiranjeevi, who is a former politician himself. Chiranjeevi floated 'Praja Rajyam Party' (PRP) in Andhra Pradesh on August 26, 2008. With not much luck in the field, he eventually merged his PRP with Congress. During his political stint, he was appointed as a union minister and a Rajya Sabha Member. However, the Tollywood star has stayed away from politics since the end of his RS membership in 2018.

7)In 2018, noted actor Kamal Hassan launched his party 'Makkal Needhi Maiam' in Tamil Nadu. Currently, at the helm of his party's affairs, Hassan plans to contest from the Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming elections.

8)Film icon Dev Anand is also among the list of stars to have launched a political party. In September 1979, he floated the 'National Party of India' (NPI) to teach "a lesson to politicians" but dissolved the party in merely a few months.

9)Actor-politician R Sarathkumar has been active in politics from 1994 but established his own party- 'All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi' (AISMK)- in 2007. Prior to floating his own party, the Tamil actor was earlier associated with the DMK and the AIADMK.

10)Among the top of his league, megastar Rajnikanth also had a brief stint between 2017 and 2021. In 2017, he launched 'Rajini Makkal Mandram', a group that could have had its anticipated launch in December 2020. However, it was dissolved on December 20 that year as Rajnikanth junked his plans to enter politics, citing poor health.