In an attempt to make the most of the current pro-farmer wave among the youth, the PWF coordinator Vaiko has gone green with his turban, most likely a permanent replacement to his usual black colour. Vaiko himself had confirmed this during one of his recent emotional outbursts.

Declaring that the PWF-TMC-DMDK alliance has won the support of more than 90 farmers’ associations in Tamil Nadu, Vaiko is now getting ready to address a massive farmers’ rally on May 2, in Palladam.

“Today, 70 percent of the farmers in Tamil Nadu are incurring heavy losses in agriculture, and find themselves abandoned by all. No political party has released a pro-farmer manifesto. Ours will be a farmer-friendly manifesto. All the issues that the farmers are facing, including the methane, GAIL gas, wildlife intrusion, and Mullai Periyar, will be discussed in the conference,” Vaiko said, in a recent press conference.

Vaiko siding up with the farmers is not an unusual event. Yet, what is significant is the 71-year-old politician’s decision to give a rest to his traditional black turban (a colour that symbolizes Dravidian ideologies) and opting for a pro-farmer green. When asked, Vaiko came up with a witty retort that he intends to continue wearing his now-familiar black shawl. Despite the blazing summer heat…

The turban was seen at the rail-roko protests in Kovilpatti, and more recently, when he made the dramatic announcement that he was not going to contest the elections this time.

The BJP meanwhile laughed off his claims of concern for the farmer and attributed his black-to-green switch to the usual culprit – astrology. The party’s state president Tamilisai Sounderarajan said that Vaiko chose green for astrological reasons. If his former mentor Karunanidhi has his yellow, Vaiko has found his own colour – green. Vaiko promptly denied it, and said that he doesn’t believe in astrology.

“Change is nothing new for Vaiko,” says a senior journalist from Coimbatore, who wishes to remain anonymous. “We have all seen how, after calling himself a man of principles, he regularly shifted alliance with the both the Dravidian parties in the past.”

This time, for a change, the DMK outcast has decided to not attach himself with any political party, but with chosen sections of the society – the farmers and the youth. After his open pro-farmer turban, Vaiko has come up with a new term for the youth. He calls them the “Cellphone Lions.”

“The youth are the ones who are going to change the political scenario, and they want a change. They believe in our alliance, and this can be clearly seen on various social media platforms,” he says in his campaigns.