Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B. Manickam Tagore said he is confident that Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will endorse Rahul Gandhi as the India bloc’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
In an interview with The Hindu, Tagore said that slogans calling Vijay the “future prime minister” were no longer being raised. He added that when the elections arrive the TVK chief will announce his support and that the Tamil Nadu Congress will contest projecting Rahul Gandhi. He expressed 100% confidence that Vijay will support the candidate.
Tagore also commented on the DMK’s exit from the India bloc after the Congress joined the TVK‑led ministry. He said the DMK would not win in the Lok Sabha even if it formed a national‑level third front, citing its 2014 performance. He argued that the opposition remains ideologically united, with 23 members of the India bloc, and that the BJP’s stories about third fronts were manufactured to split opposition votes.
When asked about TVK’s aggression toward the BJP, Tagore said the party is young but stands with the Congress on issues such as delimitation. He noted that Tamil Nadu has a Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance that will decide collective action against BJP moves. He defended TVK’s silence on national issues by saying each party has its own style and does not need to issue daily statements.
