Chennai: Making a giant leap towards realizing his political aspirations, actor Vijay, who has been remaining in the shadows after naming his party, announced the unveiling of the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam’s flag and anthem on Thursday at the party secretariat at Panaiyur on East Coast Road in Chennai.
The event, which will be attended by top honchos of the party, is expected to mark the beginning of an era that would have the flag fluttering atop thousands of masts across the State and the party anthem played on different platforms.
The unveiling of the flag and the formal launch of the anthem would make August 22 a red-letter day, Vijay said in a statement on Wednesday, even as speculations on the colour and design of the flag started in all forums and media channels.
Earlier, a photograph of a yellow flag with a flower in the middle of it made its rounds in social media with some saying that it was the flag of Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam. But now it is said that the flag would have two colours, red and yellow, with the image of the flower Albizia lebbeck, known locally as ‘Vagai’ in the middle of it.
Vagai or Siris flower, in the Tamil literary and historical context, signifies ‘victory’ and is known to have been worn by victors of wars and other contests just the way the Romans treated the crown of Olive leaves at the ancient Olympics. The Tamil phrase ‘Vagai Sooda Vaa’ means ‘come and win.’
It should also be noted that ‘Victory’ is part of the party’s nomenclature itself – Vetri means victory – and the flag is said to have been designed to symbolize the party’s defining objective – to win (the elections) and form a government in the State in 2026.
Apart from the several references that ‘Vagai’ has in Tamil literature of yore, even religious texts mention it. Goddess Durga is believed to have worshipped Lord Shiva under a Vagai tree to gain the energy to kill the demon Mahishasura.
It is rumoured that about a lakh of flags have been printed and despatched to party offices – earlier they were fan clubs – all over the State with instructions to not open the packaging ahead of the formal launch by the party leader, Vijay, in Chennai and then fly them in their office flag masts and wherever possible from Thursday.
The idea is to popularize the flag and song before unveiling the party’s ideology and principles to the public at the proposed public meeting to be held soon, marking the formal inauguration of the party and the introduction of office-bearers.
Though the party was finding it difficult to finalise a venue for the public meeting as the targeted congregation was five lakh, efforts were on to identify a ground that could accommodate such a large number of supporters and provide parking space for their vehicles as they would be driving down from all over the State.
As the varied arrangements for the party launch were being made in secrecy, giving a touch of mystique to the political entity itself, the prospect of another party coming in to garner people’s votes has reportedly given the jitters to the established players in the political arena.
Almost all parties are apprehensive of the youth in their ranks breaking away and joining the new party. The panic, it is said, has not spared any party, big or small, as the younger generation, which is evidently cynical of the present political culture, might see in the new party an alternative.
