Admired by his followers as "Captain," former Tamil actor and DMDK leader Vijayakanth passed away on December 28 at the age of 71 at a private hospital in Chennai. Because of his significant respiratory difficulties, he was placed on a ventilator.

While he was being treated for pneumonia at Chennai's MIOT Hospital, where he had been confined since November, party sources claimed he had been diagnosed with Covid-19.

The DMDK was established in 2005 as a rival to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) by actor and philanthropist Vijayakanth.

In order to win 29 of the 41 seats it ran for in the 2011 elections, he teamed up with the AIADMK. Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, the DMDK broke out from the AIADMK-led government alliance due to differences over seat sharing. It formed alliances with lesser parties and the Left, but to no avail.

With chief minister M K Stalin announcing full state honors for Vijayakanth's funeral, tributes to the actor poured in. Stalin declared, "Tamil Nadu and the film industry are mourning his passing." Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Vijayakanth as a legend in the Tamil film industry.