Congress ministers threaten to quit Tamil Nadu cabinet over TVK's 'Vijay for PM' push
Tensions have emerged within Tamil Nadu's ruling alliance after Congress leaders warned that the party's ministers could leave the state cabinet if the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) does not support Rahul Gandhi as the opposition's prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Tamil Nadu Tourism Minister and Congress leader S Rajesh Kumar issued the warning on Sunday at a party event in Kanniyakumari district. He said the Congress had a clear position on the 2029 election and that Rahul Gandhi remained its choice for the top post.
"All the Ministers claim that our CM is the next PM. Media friends constantly ask me, being a Minister, and I’m making it clear. Our leader Rahul Gandhi will become PM after the 2029 election. If TVK does not accept this, Congress Party's both Ministers will not continue in the post," Kumar said.
The warning follows an increasingly vocal campaign within the TVK projecting Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay as a contender for the country's top political post. The debate intensified after the India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation survey, published on August 28, placed Vijay third among respondents' preferred prime ministerial choices, behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.
The pitch gained further momentum after Tamil Nadu minister and Vijay aide Aadhav Arjuna said during a debate on delimitation that the country's next prime minister should emerge from Tamil Nadu. In some parts of Tamil Nadu, TVK workers have also put up posters backing the "Vijay for PM" call, taking the campaign beyond social media and into the streets.
The rhetoric has drawn a sharp response from the Congress, which is an ally of the TVK and shares power in the state government. Tamil Nadu Congress president and MP B Manickam Tagore accused TVK leaders of behaving more like Vijay's admirers than members of a political organisation.
"The TVK leaders are still operating in a fan-club mode. So, you cannot silence people who are in the fan-club mode," Tagore said.
Tagore also shared a fable on X titled "The Fox's Fake Poll" about a fox using a supposed survey to create mistrust between a lion and an elephant. He concluded in his post, "Not every number tells the truth. Not every survey is the voice of the people."
The Congress joined the TVK-led alliance after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, in which Vijay's party emerged as the largest formation with 108 seats and formed the government with support from the Congress, VCK, IUML, CPI and CPI(M). The Congress's five legislators in the 234-member Assembly are important to the government's majority, with Kumar and P Viswanathan holding Cabinet berths.
Comments from within the TVK have also fueled the dispute. In remarks reported by ThePrint, senior TVK leader Sengottaiyan said, "People from north Indian states are also looking forward to our leader Vijay; he is the one who has the power to rule the entire India." He added, "I have travelled with MGR and Jayalalithaa. After these two leaders, Vijay is the force who will not only rule Tamil Nadu but also the future India, following their path."
A Congress functionary, Bharathi, dismissed the campaign, saying, "If party members speak, they will even say that he is going to become the head of the United Nations. Imagination, imagination, there is no limit to their imagination. Let them think whatever they want." Bharathi also asked, "The moment someone says that he will become the Prime Minister, they have already decided that it will not be Rahul Gandhi, haven’t they?" and added, "If Congress workers have any self-respect, let them come out and say that they have decided Rahul Gandhi will not become the Prime Minister. No, no, he will be the Prime Minister, and let these people keep worshipping him."
Rajesh Kumar's threat underscores the fragility of the alliance, which was formed after the 2026 elections. The Congress has insisted that Gandhi remains the INDIA bloc's prime ministerial candidate, but the TVK's promotion of Vijay has created a public rift within the ruling coalition.