‘Our Leader Is Very Clear’: Tamil Nadu Minister Reiterates TVK’s Stand on ‘Vijay as PM’ Pitch

Chennai: Tamil Nadu minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader K A Sengottaiyan has reiterated the party’s position amid a growing political debate over whether Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay could be projected as a prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Sengottaiyan said the party’s leadership was “very clear” on the issue, while highlighting the mandate Vijay received in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election. His remarks come amid rising tensions between TVK and its coalition partner, the Congress, over who should be projected as the Opposition’s national face in 2029.

‘Our leader is very clear’

Responding to questions about the growing ‘Vijay for PM’ campaign, Sengottaiyan said Tamil Nadu had placed its faith in Vijay and that the chief minister was taking steps to fulfil the expectations of the people.

He also pointed to TVK’s rapid rise in Tamil Nadu politics, arguing that the party had achieved a significant electoral breakthrough within a relatively short period of its formation.

The comments assume significance because several TVK leaders have recently gone beyond state politics and spoken about Vijay's potential national role.

TVK MLA Kanimozhi Santhosh recently said Vijay would be the party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2029 and predicted a “big and shocking change” in Indian politics. She also said Rahul Gandhi could eventually support Vijay’s elevation to the Prime Minister’s post.

Congress insists on Rahul Gandhi

The TVK’s national ambitions have not gone down well with its Congress ally.

Tamil Nadu Tourism Minister S Rajesh Kumar, a Congress leader, recently warned that the party’s two ministers in the state Cabinet would resign if TVK refused to accept Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 general election.

Kumar said Congress would not compromise on its position and maintained that Gandhi should lead the party in the next Lok Sabha election.

The remarks have exposed an early fault line within the TVK-led government, which was formed after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election with Congress and other parties supporting Vijay.

How the ‘Vijay for PM’ campaign began

The controversy gained momentum after posters appeared in parts of Tamil Nadu projecting Vijay as “Tomorrow’s PM”.

The campaign was followed by comments from TVK leaders, including Public Works Department Minister Aadhav Arjuna, who said the country’s highest constitutional office should be held by a leader from Tamil Nadu.

The issue received another boost after an India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation survey placed Vijay third among respondents' preferred choices for prime minister, behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.

While the survey has been cited by TVK supporters as evidence of Vijay’s growing appeal, Congress leaders have questioned the political significance of the findings.

Congress calls TVK leaders ‘fan-club’ members

Tamil Nadu Congress president B Manickam Tagore has criticised TVK leaders for their approach, saying some of them were still operating in a “fan-club mode” rather than functioning like a political organisation.

Tagore also questioned the survey used to bolster the Vijay-for-PM argument and maintained Congress’s position on Rahul Gandhi.

The criticism reflects the difficulty of maintaining a coalition when two parties appear to have different ambitions for the 2029 Lok Sabha election.

For Congress, Rahul Gandhi remains its preferred national face. For sections of TVK, Vijay’s rapid political rise in Tamil Nadu has created an opportunity to build a broader national profile.

Vijay's political challenge

Vijay entered electoral politics after a hugely successful career in Tamil cinema and founded TVK with an ambition to challenge Tamil Nadu’s established political order.

His party's strong performance in the 2026 Assembly election and subsequent formation of the government has dramatically changed his political standing. The question now is whether TVK will remain focused primarily on Tamil Nadu or attempt to turn Vijay into a national political figure ahead of 2029.

For the moment, Sengottaiyan’s latest comments indicate that the party is not backing away from the growing national conversation around its leader.

Alliance test ahead of 2029

The disagreement over the prime ministerial face is becoming an important test for the TVK-Congress partnership.

Congress has already warned that its ministers could quit the state government if TVK refuses to back Rahul Gandhi, while TVK leaders continue to publicly promote Vijay’s national prospects.

The issue is still more than two years away from the 2029 Lok Sabha election, but the early confrontation suggests that questions over leadership could become a defining feature of Tamil Nadu’s political landscape.

For Vijay, the immediate challenge is to consolidate his government and party in Tamil Nadu. For Congress, the challenge is to retain its political space within an alliance led by a relatively new party whose leader is increasingly being projected beyond state politics.

The ‘Vijay versus Rahul’ debate may have begun early — but it has already emerged as the first major test of the TVK-Congress alliance.