Congress leaders meet Vijay amid growing debate over PM candidate
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B. Manickam Tagore and Rajya Sabha MP Praveen Chakravarty met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay at the Secretariat on Monday.
According to sources, the meeting covered issues including the delimitation exercise, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, and developments during the recently concluded Parliament session.
The sources, however, said the meeting did not touch upon the ongoing political debate over attempts to position Vijay as a possible prime ministerial contender, particularly in political circles outside Tamil Nadu.
The meeting comes at a time when the role of Vijay and his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), in the opposition alliance has become a subject of increasing discussion.
A fresh political controversy has surfaced in Tamil Nadu after Congress leader and State Tourism Minister S. Rajesh Kumar said he would resign from the State Cabinet if TVK refuses to support Rahul Gandhi as the opposition alliance’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Kumar made the remarks at a ceremony in Marthandam on Sunday night to welcome George Robinson as the new Congress president of the Kanyakumari West district.
The minister said the Congress remained committed to Rahul Gandhi’s candidature for the prime minister’s post and claimed that the party’s two ministers in the Tamil Nadu government would be prepared to step down if TVK eventually opposes Gandhi.
“For us, the party comes first,” Kumar said, while stressing that Congress workers wanted to see Gandhi lead the country.
His comments come amid efforts by sections within TVK to present party chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay as a potential national political figure, with speculation even extending to the prime ministerial race.