Vijay chairs crucial TVK alliance meeting amid Left boycott, Congress tensions

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday chaired a crucial meeting of ruling alliance partners to formalise the post-poll coalition, with the CPI(M) and CPI staying away from the discussions.

The meeting at the TVK headquarters in Panaiyur began at 4 pm and brought together key leaders of the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B Manickam Tagore, the party's Rajya Sabha member Praveen Chakravarthy and Assembly floor leader Tharahai Cuthbert attended the meeting.

MDMK leaders Vaiko and his son Durai, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, and IUML leaders KM Kader Mohideen, AM Shahjahan and Syed Farooq Basha were among those present.

The meeting is the second major gathering of the ruling combine since the post-poll coalition formed the government and is aimed at giving a formal structure to the alliance.

Among the key issues on the agenda are drafting a Common Minimum Programme (CMP), setting up a steering committee, appointing a convener and finalising an official name for the alliance, with the proposed nomenclature expected to reflect its emphasis on social justice and secularism.

However, the absence of the Left parties has emerged as a key political development.

Both CPI(M) and CPI, which extend issue-based outside support to the TVK government, have decided against participating in the meeting. The parties had also stayed away from a similar alliance discussion on July 1.

CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam had said the party's support was intended to ensure stability of the TVK government in the Assembly and that it was not keen on joining a formal alliance structure that could eventually shape electoral arrangements for local body polls and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

The Left parties have also sought to retain the freedom to independently raise issues concerning labour, agriculture and other public matters. Their leaders, however, recently met Vijay separately and submitted a memorandum on workers' grievances, the Cauvery dispute and concerns over the state budget.

The coordination meeting is also taking place against the backdrop of growing differences between the TVK and the Congress over the issue of national leadership.

Calls from some TVK legislators and ministers projecting Vijay as a potential prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections have drawn objections from the Congress.

Tamil Nadu Congress leaders have reiterated that Rahul Gandhi remains the party's preferred face of the opposition's national bloc. Congress Minister S Rajesh Kumar had warned that any attempt to undermine that position could prompt the party to reconsider its participation in the state Cabinet.

TVK ministers subsequently described the "Vijay for PM" remarks as the personal views of individual legislators.

The meeting is therefore being closely watched as Vijay seeks to consolidate the ruling coalition, accommodate differing positions among its partners and establish a common governance framework.

The TVK depends on the support of the Congress, which has five MLAs, besides the VCK, IUML and Left parties, which have two MLAs each, to maintain its thin majority in the Assembly.