Rahul INDIA bloc’s only PM face, asserts Vaiko

MADURAI: MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Sunday batted for TVK president and Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, saying that he won’t even dream of becoming a prime ministerial candidate, and asked ruling party ministers to exercise restraint on the issue.

Talking to media persons in Tirunelveli, the senior leader clarified his party’s stance that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alone could be the INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate in the 2029 Lok Sabha election, as the Grand Old Party heads the alliance.

Responding to questions about Congress minister S Rajeshkumar’s threat that the party’s ministers will resign from the Cabinet if ruling party members continue to promote CM Vijay as a PM candidate, Vaiko attributed it to individual choice rather than a formal decision by the TVK. “Rahul Gandhi can definitely be the prime ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha election. Since the Congress leads the INDIA bloc, its candidate can be the prime ministerial candidate,” he said, adding that even in the Chief Minister’s imagination, there could be no such view.

Vaiko also urged the Chief Minister to advise ministers against making such controversial statements, as the vocal supporter of TVK in the Congress, Rajeshkumar himself, has hit back at the ruling party’s recent penchant for portraying CM Vijay as the PM candidate in 2029 Lok Sabha polls. “There is no possibility of any other alternative except Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate from the INDIA bloc,” Vaiko said, advising ministers from alliance parties to refrain from making contradictory or careless public statements.