A fresh disagreement has surfaced within the Tamil Nadu Congress over the party’s alliance with TVK, with former state Congress chief K Selvaperunthagai
questioning the tie-up and pitching Rahul Gandhi as the party’s prime ministerial face for the 2029 Lok Sabha election. The remarks have drawn a pushback from Congress MP Praveen Chakravarty, who has sought to downplay any differences and maintained that the Congress-TVK alliance remains intact. The exchange comes days after the two parties participated in an alliance meeting in Chennai. Selvaperunthagai said Congress allies should accept the party’s position on Rahul Gandhi as its preferred prime ministerial face. He also questioned the rationale of continuing an alliance with parties that do not accept Rahul Gandhi for the top post. His comments come amid an emerging debate over who could lead the broader political arrangement in the 2029 Lok Sabha election. While Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu have publicly backed Rahul Gandhi, sections within the TVK have been projecting Vijay as a potential national leader. Congress Tamil Nadu president Manickam Tagore has also said Rahul Gandhi would be the party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2029. Separately, senior Congress figures have continued to underline Rahul Gandhi’s leadership even as the party works with Vijay’s TVK in Tamil Nadu. Responding to Selvaperunthagai, Chakravarty said the former state Congress chief was not authorised to speak on the alliance and dismissed his remarks. He said there was no uncertainty over the Congress-TVK relationship and indicated that discussions between the two sides had remained cordial. The disagreement is significant because the Congress and TVK entered into an alliance after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election. Congress had ended its earlier alliance with the DMK and extended support to the TVK-led government, with the understanding that the partnership would continue beyond government formation and into future elections. The alliance has since faced questions over the two parties’ differing positions on the 2029 national contest. TVK supporters have pushed Vijay’s name, while Congress leaders have maintained that Rahul Gandhi remains their choice.
