Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader C Joseph Vijay will chair a crucial alliance coordination meeting in Chennai on Wednesday September 9 as differences within the ruling coalition over political direction and leadership for 2029 Lok Sabha polls grow.
This is the second meeting of this kind involving TVK and its post-poll allies. It will be held to formalise the coalition structure, prepare a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and name the alliance.
But the meeting is taking place against a background of growing political acrimony. While the Congress has said it will be there, CPI and CPI(M) — Communist Party of India (Marxist), or Left parties have said they would not be participating. The Left parties say they give issue-based outside support to TVK government but are not formal members of ruling coalition.
Congress Attends Despite Leadership Disagreement
The Congress decision to go to the meeting has not settled its differences with TVK over national leadership.
TVK leaders have publicly pitched Vijay as a possible prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Congress has made clear that Rahul Gandhi is its preferred prime ministerial candidate.
TNCC president B Manickam Tagore said Congress will attend the September 9 meeting but reiterated party position on Rahul Gandhi. The disagreement has raised questions about how coalition will deal with competing ambitions while trying to maintain unity in Tamil Nadu.
The row started when some TVK legislators and leaders publicly backed Vijay for a national role. Congress leaders responded saying individual leaders should not try to change the alliance’s overall political understanding of things.
Left Parties Choose to Stay Away
CPI and CPI(M) have taken a different stand from Congress. Both parties have decided not to participate in the September 9 meeting.
The Left parties have said before that they are supporting TVK government from outside (mainly to avoid political instability in the state) and also that they do not want to join the government or become formal coalition partners.
Their absence is significant because TVK had reached out to the Left parties ahead of the meeting. Senior TVK ministers met representatives of CPI and CPI(M) to invite them but the communists stuck to their position.
Alliance Structure on Agenda
Besides leadership-related disagreements the meeting is expected to focus on structure and functioning of the coalition: an alliance name (formal or informal), Common Minimum Programme etc.
Congress, VCK and IUML are expected to attend the meeting. MDMK leader Vaiko has also been said to be in favour of attending the meeting.
For Vijay the gathering is at an important political moment as his government consolidates its coalition and coordinates among different parties.
The meeting could therefore give an early indication of whether TVK-led alliance can manage differences over national leadership while maintaining a united front in Tamil Nadu. The 2029 Lok Sabha elections are still ahead and the competing positions on Vijay and Rahul Gandhi could be a major issue for discussion within alliance too.
