'Vijay for PM' pitch splits alliance as Congress minister threatens resignation

CHENNAI: Weeks after coming to power, the TVK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu is already showing its first cracks — over posters. The row began after posters appeared in parts of Tamil Nadu projecting Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay as 'Tomorrow's PM'. TVK leaders fanned the flames: Public Works Department minister Aadhav Arjuna said the country's highest constitutional office should be held by a leader from Tamil Nadu. An India Today–CVoter Mood of the Nation survey that placed Vijay third among respondents' preferred choices for prime minister — behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi — was cited by supporters as proof of his national appeal. The pitch has gone down badly with the allies who put Vijay in the chief minister's chair. Tamil Nadu Tourism Minister S. Rajesh Kumar, a Congress leader, has warned that the party's two ministers in the state cabinet would resign if TVK refused to accept Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 general election, insisting the party would not compromise on its position. Congress leaders have questioned the political significance of the survey, while MDMK general secretary Vaiko has rejected the proposal outright, maintaining that Rahul Gandhi remains the primary choice for the INDIA bloc. AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami mocked the ambition, remarking that Vijay could even seek to become the United States President. The TVK-led government was formed after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election with Congress and other parties backing Vijay. That its national ambitions are already straining the alliance, months into office, says something about the new government's priorities — projecting its leader for Delhi while Tamil Nadu deals with the fallout of the Karur stampede, an RTI exemption row and a looming byelection fight.