Madurai: Signalling a fresh strain in the ruling coalition, Congress leader and Tamil Nadu tourism minister R Rajesh Kumar threatened to quit the state cabinet if TVK refuses to accept Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate in 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
“”Rahul Gandhi will be the prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 parliamentary election. The remark comes against the backdrop of repeated attempts by TVK leaders to project chief minister C Joseph Vijay as a potential prime ministerial face from Tamil Nadu in 2029.
Our goal is to achieve that,’’ he said. The issue was first raised by PWD minister Aadhav Arjuna during a debate on delimitation exercise when he said a Prime Minister should emerge from Tamil Nadu. The debate gained traction nationally after a private media house said their survey has found Vijay was the third most preferred prime ministerial choice in the country, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. When asked about the issue, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Manickam Tagore took a swipe at TVK ministers, saying they were still functioning with a “fan club mindset.”
He will become the next PM. Our cadres want to see Rahul Gandhi as PM. His remarks were followed by other TVK ministers, including D Sarathkumar, A Srinath and K Jagadeeswari, projecting Vijay as a possible prime ministerial candidate. The statements by TVK leaders sparked unease among the Congress rank and file.
If at all TVK refuses the accept this, the two Congress ministers will walk out of the cabinet,” Rajesh Kumar said on Sunday at the swearing in ceremony of George Robinson as Congress party’s Kanyakumari West district unit. “For us, party is above all other considerations.
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