DMDK party leader Capt. Vijayakanth passes away; PM Modi condoles

DMDK party founder, political leader and popular Tamil actor Captain Vijayakanth passed away. He passed away in Chennai on Thursday (December 28). He had tested positive for coronavirus, then was on ventilator support. He was 71 years old. His body has been brought to his residence and will be taken to the DMDK office soon.

A day before his demise, the party had shared a post on its official X handle informing about Vijayakanth's health. Vijayakanth has been admitted to the hospital. The post said that he was put on ventilator support after he complained of difficulty breathing.

Vijayakanth’s - popularly known as 'Captain'- health had deteriorated earlier in November. At that time he was admitted to Chennai's MIOT Hospital. He was under doctor's observation for 14 days as he was suffering from cough and sore throat. After that he was cured. However, his health deteriorated again and he passed away during the course of treatment.

Extremely saddened by the passing away of Thiru Vijayakanth Ji. A legend of the Tamil film world, his charismatic performances captured the hearts of millions. As a political leader, he was deeply committed to public service, leaving a lasting impact on Tamil Nadu’s political… pic.twitter.com/di0ZUfUVWo

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 28, 2023

Vijayakanth was a popular Tamil actor. Before joining politics, he had acted in 154 films. During his tenure in Nadigar Sangam i.e. South Indian Artists Association (SIAA), he revolutionised the South film industry. Apart from acting, he was also popular for his works. He founded a party called Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam in 2005.

In 2006, his party contested all the seats in the Legislative Assembly and secured 10 percent of the total vote. However, apart from him, no candidate of the party had won. In 2011, DMDK contested elections in alliance with AIDMK and won 26 out of 41 seats. His party emerged as the main opposition party that year. Vijayakanth served as the Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2016.