Vijay's stunning astrologer move after DMK's anti-Sanatan speech. Talk about timing

As Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay faced a floor test in the Assembly on Tuesday, his religion and his decision to elevate his personal astrologer to the Chief Minister’s Office also appeared to be put to the test. Both allies and the Opposition took him to task over the appointment of his personal astrologer as an advisor to the Chief Minister, calling the move “unscientific” and devoid of logic.

For a man who has neither worn his faith on his sleeve nor hidden it, Vijay has long been known among his fan base for the almost God-like justice his on-screen characters delivered to enemies.

But that changed overnight.

During his first Assembly session on Tuesday, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin looked Vijay in the eye and declared, “Sanatan, which divided people, should be eradicated.” Vijay, dressed in a suit, merely folded his hands after the remark.

In response, Vijay, without directly taking on the Sanatan jibe head-on, said, “Everyone is important here. Even if they are from a party with just one candidate, their opinion will be treated equally to TVK’s. Good suggestions will be accepted, and bad suggestions will be rejected.”

Soon after the exchange, headlines were dominated by the official announcement appointing Vijay’s personal astrologer, Radhan Pandit Vettrivel, as Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister. Questions were immediately raised over the timing. It was not as though Vijay had not already made up his mind, but the sequence of events -- the Sanatan remark, Vijay’s folded-hands gesture, and then the appointment announcement -- quickly fuelled political chatter.

The DMK soon latched onto the controversy, with party spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai tweeting, “Many of you may be wondering about what our leader #UdhayStalin spoke in the Assembly today. Now keep wondering who has been made the Officer on Special Duty.”

However, that was not the end of it. As the floor test began on Wednesday, leaders from both camps decided not to let the matter rest. Vijay’s ally, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), first took a veiled dig at the appointment of astrologer Radhan Pandit Vettrivel to the Chief Minister’s Office. VCK MLA Vanni Arasu said, “Our government should give importance to scientific thinking and not astrology.”

However, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), an ally of Stalin’s DMK, lashed out at Vijay, with its MLA Premalatha Vijayakanth calling the appointment “unacceptable” and saying it was “sending a wrong message to the youth.”

It all first started when Vijay took his oath, saying, “I, C Joseph Vijay”. Until then, Vijay had largely gone by mononyms ranging from “Thalapathy” to simply “Vijay.” But his decision to take oath in the name of “Aandavan” (God) marked a break from the tradition followed by earlier Dravidian leaders, who affirmed by conscience.

Following this, Google search trends related to Vijay’s religion skyrocketed, with the highest queries coming from Nagaland, Goa, Meghalaya and Mizoram -- states with sizeable Christian populations.

Born to a Christian father and a Hindu mother, Vijay grew up in a multi-religious environment and was baptised. From visiting Lord Murugan temples carrying a Vel (divine spear) to giving his personal astrologer a role in deciding everything from the party’s name and launch to even the timing of his swearing-in based on the “muhurat”, Vijay has openly embraced multiple strands of faith.

At the same time, he has rejected what he calls both right-wing polarisation and appeasement politics, instead positioning himself closer to a Nehruvian model of secularism based on the separation of religion and state -- something he describes as “real secularism.”

Vijay may have avoided directly entering the Sanatan debate, but his gestures, symbolism and political choices have ensured that questions around faith and identity are now firmly attached to his chief ministership. In a state where Dravidian politics has long balanced rationalism with deeply personal expressions of belief, Vijay’s attempt to blend astrology, temple symbolism and “real secularism” is already reshaping Tamil Nadu’s political conversation.