Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay is being projected as “Tomorrow’s PM” in posters put up in the state’s port-industrial city of Thoothukudi.
“The situation where five or six northern states can together decide who becomes the Prime Minister must change. In the future, a Prime Minister should also emerge from Southern States… from Tamil Nadu itself. This resolution is not about Congress versus the BJP. It is about upholding state autonomy. The Minister argued that the lack of adequate representation has allowed the Union Government to impose policies against the state’s will. Congress, an ally of the TVK in Tamil Nadu, apparently doesn’t like the idea, with party leaders saying that TVK leaders are still operating in a “fan-club mode. “I fully accept that they have great love, affection, expectation, and admiration for their party leadership. This is their party. What they say within their party makes no difference to the public discourse. In public discourse, what you should ask about is policy and the law. “Every party has dreams, ambitions, and desires. One cannot pass laws to stop that. Everyone expresses their own wishes and talks about their favourite leader in their party. But we know what the political reality is. Anyone who achieves that number can become the Prime Minister, individually or collectively. You and I both know what that political reality is,” he added. Congress MP P Jothimani echoed similar sentiments, saying that neither the Congress nor the INDIA bloc would accept anyone other than Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate.
The posters were put up by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) functionary Sudhakar, who recently joined the Vijay-led party after leaving AIADMK, according to a News 18 report. There are 543 constituencies. The leader of whichever alliance wins 272 constituencies, or whichever party wins, will be the Prime Minister of India, according to the Constitution.
This resolution is intended to ensure that we do not fall under northern Indian domination,” Arjuna said. TNCC president and MP B Manickam Tagore shrugged off the narrative, saying that TVK leaders were still operating in “fan mode” and could not be silenced. Backing Tagore’s remark that TVK leaders are operating with a “fan club mindset” by projecting their leader Vijay as a potential PM candidate, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that while party workers may harbour deep admiration for their leader, national leadership is ultimately governed by the constitutional requirement of winning 272 seats in the Lok Sabha, news agency ANI reported. Their wishes within a party make no difference to me,” Chidambaram told reporters. She also urged TVK leaders to focus on governance in Tamil Nadu rather than projecting Vijay as a candidate for the prime minister’s post, according to PTI.
