CHENNAI: Congress leader Praveen Chakravarthy, whose comments enraged the DMK for promoting TVK and its leader Vijay despite the latter’s unsparing criticism of the ruling party and Chief Minister MK Stalin, is at it again.
Soon after the Election Commission allotted Whistle as TVK’s symbol for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Chakravarthy, said to be a close aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, joined the celebrations by TVK members.
“The whistle has been blown for the 2026 elections in Tamil Nadu. All political parties are ready,” he said in a social media post.
The comments on the social media platform, X, attracted attention, as the Congress high command, including Rahul, had made it clear to leaders from Tamil Nadu that the party would remain in the alliance led by the DMK and also instructed leaders to not comment on such matters.
Chakravarthy’s latest remark comes after his one-to-one meeting with Vijay at the party’s Pattinapakkam office in Chennai triggered intense speculation that the Congress might be looking to quit the DMK-led alliance and join forces with the TVK.
Seeking to quell speculation, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai said the party was strictly following the directions of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
“The AICC has issued clear guidelines, and alliance discussions are being carried out accordingly. There is no need to create unnecessary confusion,” he said.
The whistle symbol allotted to actor Vijay-led TVK had earlier been assigned to actor Prakash Raj, who contested as an independent candidate in Karnataka in 2019, and to actor Mayilsamy, who contested as an independent in Tamil Nadu in 2021.