'They are from his film fan base': Cong MLA brushes aside TVK’s 'Vijay for PM' pitch
A Congress MLA in Tamil Nadu has dismissed claims by the TVK party that actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay should be the prime ministerial candidate for 2029. The Congress party maintains that Rahul Gandhi is their chosen candidate, highlighting friction within the political alliance.
Why it matters
The disagreement reflects shifting political dynamics and power struggles within the Indian opposition coalition in Tamil Nadu.
NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu Congress MLA Tharahai Cuthbert on Wednesday dismissed ally TVK’s projection of its leader, C Joseph Vijay, as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, saying TVK leaders were making the claim as “fans” of the chief minister, a reference to Vijay’s past as an actor.“They are TVK MLAs, they are all still in the fan basis. They have come from a fan--film industries as a fan basis. Definitely, they will be saying that,” Cuthbert told reporters in Chennai.She added that, politically, the leaders had taken a “stern decision” that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would be the candidate for the prime minister’s post in 2029.Cuthbert’s remarks come amid growing differences over the political positioning of the two parties, with TVK leaders repeatedly projecting Vijay as a possible national leader.TVK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Aadhav Arjuna had earlier asserted that the country’s top constitutional…
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