After all the drama and hype, it was down to reality today as 'Captain' Vijayakanth today formally launched his political party, and formally named it as Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) (National Progressive Dravida Party) at the party conference at Thoppur near Madurai.

After hoisting the party flag, he declared open the day-long conference. While the entrance was named after the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M G Ramachandran,  the conference venue was named after Mahatma Gandhi and Kamaraj.

The several lakhs of fans who had thronged the meeting venue were of the opinion that Vijayakanth would indeed be able to make a mark in the State politics.

They opined that their hero had timed his launch perfectly. The run up to the elections in the State has just begun. And every other party in the State is unsure of itself.

Ergo, it is advantage for Vijayakanth, they said.

The moot point is whether the actor will be able to convert his fan following into a votebank and whether he will eventually go in for an alliance with either Jayalalithaa or Karunanidhi or contest on his own.

The fans are looking for an answer from Vijayakanth on this.

Interestingly, most of the big names from the film industry, who were invited for conference, stayed away.