From Athletics To Politics: Premalatha Vijayakant’s Journey To Tamil Nadu's Political Landscape

Born in the small town of Ambur in the Vellore district to a sugar factory office manager Kannaiah and his wife Hamsaveni, Premalatha Vijayakant always loved extra-curricular activities during her childhood, and she has been an active player in a variety of sports.

Fast-forward to today, she has emerged as a political face and driving force of DMDK (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam). The trajectory of her journey started with a marriage proposal for her family from the famous actor-turned-politician Vijayakant known as Captain, in 1990. In a recent interview, Premalatha reminiscences she had dreamed of being an IPS officer and was always attracted to sports and athletics.

“It all happened very soon. The horoscopes were matched. I was taken to my sister’s home in Chennai as he could not travel to Vellore. The families agreed and the wedding was conducted on January 31,” she remembers her marriage in the interview given to the News Minute.

It was after the marriage that Premalatha became a public focus and unlike many other star wives, she didn’t remain indoors, as she loved to go out and interact with the Vijayakant’s fan bases, attending public functions and events.

However, the huge fan base of the captain became a separate group with a common flag, creating a political irritation in the state, according to Premalatha. It was an incident attacking the captain’s fans by PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi) over a statement that the captain made that propelled the fans to raise the demand for the creation of a political party.

After creating DMDK, the captain’s life started to become busier with rallies and events and Premalatha also started to appear in political rallies both alone and with the captain.

With Vijayakant becoming not active in politics due to his health issues, Premalatha has taken the duty to lead the party. When the fight against PMK, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Congress becomes intense, Premalatha works hard to make captain the next chief minister, as she expressed her dream to see Vijayakant as chief minister in the interview.

Pushing herself to relentless campaigns, she has been emerging as a prominent political figure in the state.