Vijay for PM pitch sparks rift in Tamil Nadu, Congress threatens cabinet exit
Congress ministers in Tamil Nadu warned they will resign if TVK does not back Rahul Gandhi as the Opposition's 2029 prime ministerial candidate, amid TVK's 'Vijay for PM' pitch.
A fresh fault line has emerged within the ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu over the TVK's "Vijay for PM" pitch, with the Congress warning that its ministers could walk out of Chief Minister Joseph Vijay’s cabinet if the TVK does not back 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, saying 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," he said.
The remarks come amid a campaign within the TVK projecting Vijay as a potential prime ministerial candidate, with party workers drawing parallels between his tenure as Chief Minister and the possibility of him taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level.
The "Vijay for PM" narrative received a fresh boost after the India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation survey placed the actor-turned-politician among the top choices for prime minister, behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader 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 strong pushback from the Congress, which is an ally of the TVK and shares power with it in the state government.
Congress Tamil Nadu unit chief Manickam Tagore hit out at TVK members, saying they were "still in fan club mode" and suggesting that those operating in that mode could not easily change their approach.
In a social media post, Tagore appeared to take a swipe at Vijay while narrating a story in which a fox conducts a purported survey among animals and uses its findings to create distrust between a lion and an elephant.
The story questioned the methodology of the survey, asking how many animals were questioned, where it was conducted, whom the fox spoke to, what questions were asked and how the findings were calculated.
Tagore concluded, "Not every number tells the truth. Not every survey is the voice of the people".
The Congress won five Assembly seats in the 2026 Tamil Nadu election and subsequently joined the TVK-led government, with Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan receiving Cabinet berths. The party’s five legislators are also important to the government’s majority in the 234-member Assembly.