CHENNAI: In the national capital for the first time after taking charge as the Chief Minister, TVK president C Joseph Vijay confined his itinerary to official engagements and returned to Tamil Nadu without meeting leaders of alliance partners, notably the Congress high command.
During his two-day visit, the chief minister met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday and submitted memoranda on key issues concerning Tamil Nadu.
However, he was unable to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the visit and did not meet leaders of the CPI and CPM. More noteworthy in political circles here was another meeting that did not happen: With leaders of the Congress.
All India Professionals' Congress chairperson Praveen Chakravarthy, one of the vocal supporters of Congress-TVK tie-up, told reporters that Vijay had sought an appointment to meet Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday evening after his meeting with Prime Minister Modi. However, the Congress leader was busy, he said.
Party MP Christopher Tilak claimed that Vijay's meeting with Rahul has only been deferred and not cancelled as speculated in political circles. "The Chief Minister is likely to come to Delhi around June 11 for the NITI Aayog meeting, and I think he would meet [Congress president] Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul," Tilak told reporters in Delhi.
Sources in the TVK maintained that the meeting did not happen only because the Congress leadership was busy with the change of guard in Karnataka.
These claims, however, did not quell the rumours about an uneasiness creeping into the alliance. The Congress had snapped its years-long alliance with the DMK to offer support to the TVK president to form the government, and got two Cabinet berths in return. The top leaders of the two parties gave a public display of bonhomie during the swearing-in.
However, the TVK poaching MLAs from AIADMK has not gone down well with at least a section of the national party. Congress’s Karur MP S Jothimani, widely considered to be part of Rahul’s inner circle had come out openly against it, even describing it as ‘horse-trading’ that her party would not support.