Some political parties have an extraordinary ability to sense an opportunity in a tragedy—whether human-made or caused by a natural disaster. They attempt to make political capital out of such misfortunes. This role is often played by opposition parties and sometimes even the ruling party.

Whenever a human tragedy occurs, ruling parties generally tend to shy away from responsibility and accountability. At times, accurate information is withheld, and distorted data is shared with the media. For example, the Uttar Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, initially acknowledged 30 deaths in the stampede during the Maha Kumbh Mela. Weeks later, Adityanath admitted in the state assembly that the actual toll was 37.

In contrast, a BBC Hindi investigation published in June 2025 claimed to have evidence that at least 82 people died in the incident—more than double the official figure. The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and other independent groups also suggested that the numbers were underreported, based on eyewitness accounts, media reports, and hospital records.

The most recent large-scale tragedy occurred on September 27, 2025, in the Karur district of Tamil Nadu. According to an official statement by the Tamil Nadu government, at least 41 people were killed and more than 50 others injured in a stampede during a political rally hosted by actor Vijay Chandrasekhar, the founder and president of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

According to media reports, organisers had expected a crowd of around 10,000, but more than 30,000 people—mostly fans of Vijay—turned up for the programme. Vijay was scheduled to address the rally around noon, but arrived more than six hours late. By then, the crowd had clogged the roads. "When he decided to leave and his vehicle started moving, commotion broke out as hundreds of his fans and supporters chased his vehicle," said one eyewitness. This triggered the stampede. Vijay returned to Chennai after the incident and did not immediately visit the victims or their families.

Realising the gravity of the tragedy, on September 28, 2025, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the appointment of retired Madras High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan to lead an inquiry into the stampede. He also announced a compensation of ?10 lakhs each for the families of the deceased and ?1 lakh for each of the injured.

Following the incident, the Tamil Nadu Police arrested several senior TVK functionaries, filing cases against the party's state general secretary 'Bussy' N Anand and deputy state general secretary Nirmal Kumar on charges of culpable homicide and crowd mismanagement. Vijay himself has not been named in any FIR, with the ruling DMK seemingly cautious about potential backlash against the hugely popular actor.

As seen in other parts of the country, this tragedy sparked a war of words between the ruling DMK and the TVK. The DMK blamed the TVK for failing to plan the event properly and for poor crowd control. Conversely, the TVK accused the DMK of a conspiracy, alleging that the state government did not provide a larger venue or adequate security arrangements.

Sensing a political opportunity, the BJP quickly stepped in to expand its electoral outreach. Soon after the stampede, top state BJP leaders—including Tamilisai Soundararajan, Nainar Nagendran, and Pon Radhakrishnan—arrived in Karur. K. Annamalai, the former state BJP chief, cut short a personal trip to Sri Lanka with his family to visit the site. He announced a compensation of ?1 lakh for each victim on behalf of the Karur district BJP unit—outpacing other parties, including the DMK.

A day later, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited Karur. The central BJP leadership then dispatched an NDA fact-finding committee, which included high-profile MPs like Hema Malini and Anurag Thakur. The BJP's double standards were evident: it did not send any such delegation to investigate the stampede during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, where over 30 people died. Nor did it send a team to study the Manipur riots, where 258 people were killed and 60,000 displaced.

The messaging from BJP leaders has been consistent: the state police and government are responsible for the tragedy. As reported by NDT News on October 4, 2025, BJP leader Khushbu Sundar called it a "planned" and "orchestrated" incident. She strongly criticised Chief Minister MK Stalin and the DMK for "not providing" an appropriate venue for Vijay's rally. "The people of Tamil Nadu believe there was complete negligence. It seems like a manufactured calamity because the DMK knew the kind of crowd Vijay would attract—yet they failed to provide a proper venue. MK Stalin is now silent. Forty-one people have died. He should speak; someone needs to unmute him," Sundar said.

As the NDTV News reported on October 6, 2025, the BJP delegation concluded in its report, "This was a preventable tragedy, the result of total administrative collapse."

Another report by NDTV on October 5 noted that the BJP had reached out to Vijay's party, hinting at a potential alliance and aiming to tap into the actor's massive fan base ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections. A senior BJP leader reportedly conveyed to the TVK leadership that Vijay would not be left alone if unfairly targeted by the DMK. The BJP leadership sees an opportunity to consolidate opposition votes amid growing anti-incumbency against the DMK. The approach of the BJP, which consistently placed itself on a high moral ground, amounts to immoral opportunism.

Meanwhile, the Madras High Court condemned the TVK for abandoning the victims of the Karur stampede. On Friday (October 4), the court constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Inspector General of Police Asra Garg to probe the incident. The court strongly criticised Vijay's party: "The court cannot close its eyes. It cannot be a mute spectator. It cannot shirk its responsibilities. The entire world has witnessed the sequence and consequences of this event," the court observed.

Vijay has come under fire for leaving Karur shortly after the stampede and returning to Chennai without expressing remorse or taking responsibility. He neither apologised nor accepted any accountability, insisting that his party did nothing wrong. However, the most defining trait of authentic leadership is the willingness to admit mistakes and express regret. In this regard, the young and ambitious Vijay, who aspires to become Tamil Nadu's future Chief Minister, seems to have failed.

What we observe today in India—and indeed in many parts of the world—is a reluctance among political leaders to admit to failures or blunders. For example, studies have shown that India's 2016 demonetisation of ?500 and ?1,000 notes failed to achieve its key objectives of eliminating black money and counterfeit currency. It caused significant economic disruption. A report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) confirmed that 99.3% of demonetised notes returned to the banking system.

The government had expected a large portion of unaccounted cash to be permanently eliminated. The high return rate indicates that black money holders found ways to convert their cash through intermediaries and laundering schemes. Yet, Prime Minister Modi and his party have never expressed regret over this policy failure.

The BJP has now dangled a tempting offer before Vijay, who finds himself in a political crisis. The temptation to accept it may be strong. However, if he chooses to ally with the BJP to navigate this crisis, he risks sacrificing his political future. If Vijay is wise, he will examine the fate of regional parties that aligned with the BJP in the past: the original Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Akali Dal in Punjab, PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) in Haryana, Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. The BJP used the popularity of these parties to expand its own influence, eventually diminishing their bargaining power.

Vijay must also grasp the BJP's twin goals: to capture and retain power at all costs—even if it means exploiting human tragedies like the Karur stampede—and to transform India into a Hindu Rashtra, a unitary state where federalism, diversity and Dravidian ideology have no place.