Will quit Cabinet if TVK rejects Rahul as 2029 PM face: Cong MLA Rajesh Kumar

CHENNAI: The growing friction between the Congress and its ruling ally TVK over the latter’s projection of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay as a future Prime Ministerial candidate came into the open on Sunday, with Tourism Minister and Congress leader S Rajesh Kumar warning that the party’s two ministers in the Vijay cabinet would resign if the ruling party did not back Rahul Gandhi for the top post in the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking at the oath-taking ceremony of the Congress Kanniyakumari West district president, Rajesh Kumar said Congress had a clear position on the 2029 Lok Sabha election. “When journalists and media persons ask me about this in my capacity as a minister, I make our position very clear. Our leader Rahul Gandhi will become the next Prime Minister in the 2029 Lok Sabha election. If TVK does not agree to this, the two Congress ministers will not continue in their posts,” he said.

Rajesh Kumar stressed that the Congress was bigger than any individual or ministerial post. “Without this party, there is no Rajesh Kumar. The movement is bigger. If the movement asks me tomorrow to leave this post, I will step down the very next minute,” he said.

His remarks came amid a series of statements by TVK ministers and leaders projecting Vijay as a potential future Prime Minister. The issue has increasingly become a point of friction within the ruling coalition, with Congress leaders making it clear that Rahul Gandhi remains their preferred choice for the top post.

TVK, with 107 MLAs, formed the government with the support of Congress, which has 5 MLAs, and IUML and VCK, each with 2 MLAs. CPM and CPI, each with two MLAs, are extending outside support. Congress, IUML and VCK have joined the Vijay cabinet.

The Congress leadership has, in recent weeks, responded sharply to the repeated pro-Vijay projections for the PM post. TNCC president B Manickam Tagore last week took a swipe at TVK after minister Jagadeeswari said Vijay would become Prime Minister in the future.

“They are still in fan club mode. Those in fan club mode cannot be changed. Everyone is aware of the political situation in the country. Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are attempting to take away others' powers. We are fighting the BJP. Their mode is different, and our mode is different,” Tagore said.

The Vijay-for-PM campaign has also moved beyond Tamil Nadu, with posters appearing in public places and promotional reels circulating in north India. The campaign received a fresh boost after a television channel survey placed Vijay third among potential Prime Ministerial choices with 9% support, behind Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Congress MP Jothimani on Saturday dismissed the projection of Vijay as a Prime Ministerial contender as an “election strategy”. She also said no leader could surpass Rahul Gandhi in opposing and defeating the Narendra Modi-led government.

TVK minister R Nirmalkumar, responding to the Congress criticism in Madurai on Saturday, said people across the country had aspirations for Vijay and that the TVK president would take decisions based on the prevailing political situation.

“There is no need to discuss this now,” he said.