Vijay as next PM? TVK ministers in ‘fan club mode’, says Tamil Nadu Congress chief Tagore

CHENNAI: Irked by repeated comments by TVK ministers projecting Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay as a potential prime minister, which indirectly challenges the Congress’s years-long pitch for its leader Rahul Gandhi as the PM face, the national party’s Tamil Nadu unit chief B Manickam Tagore dismissed the aspiration saying they were still in “fan club mode” – a phrase that has so far been used only by the ruling party’s rivals.

“They are still in fan club mode. Those in fan club mode cannot be changed,” Tagore said in response to a question on minister K Jegadeshwari’s remark that CM Vijay would become the PM in future.

In recent days, several ministers said Vijay was a national leader. The bandwagon included Revenue Minister KA Sengottaiyan, who said Vijay would rule the country in the future, while Jegadeshwari, said the present CM would be tomorrow’s PM.

Joining the fray, Finance Minister Maria Wilson described Vijay as an emerging national-level leader.

On TVK leaders not backing Rahul as the PM candidate – as was done by former ally, DMK, including its president MK Stalin – Tagore said Vijay had approached Congress immediately after the Assembly election results seeking its support to form the government.

“Vijay called Rahul Gandhi first and sought Congress’s support to form the government. All TVK ministers know this. Congress was the first party to support them. If not for us, Home Minister Amit Shah would have finished off the party by breaking it and making [AIADMK general secretary] Edappadi K Palaniswami the chief minister,” he said.

Tagore said Vijay would make his political position clear when the next Lok Sabha election approached. “Let the election come. Vijay, who talks little, will make his stand clear then,” he said.

On TVK not being part of the INDIA bloc, Tagore said the regional party could be invited once it had representation in Parliament. “We cannot include those who do not have MPs. Once TVK gets an MP, we will ask them to join the INDIA bloc,” he said.

Echoing Tagore, TVK joint general secretary and minister R Nirmalkumar said the INDIA bloc currently took decisions in consultation with parties having representation in Parliament. He said his party would decide whether to join and work with the bloc after its candidates won Lok Sabha seats in the 2029 elections.