TVK government’s Tourism Minister & Congress MLA S. Rajesh Kumar has warned that he and his Congress colleague, Higher Education Minister Viswanathan, will resign from the C. Joseph Vijay-led Tamil Nadu Cabinet if the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) does not accept Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, as reported in The Hindu.
Rajesh Kumar issued the warning while addressing a Congress party meeting in the Marthandam-Vettumani area of Kanyakumari district on Sunday, 30 August 2026.
The remarks come amid statements from TVK ministers and functionaries projecting Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay as a possible Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at the meeting, Rajesh Kumar said, “Ministers from TVK have frequently spoken about their leader—our Chief Minister—becoming the next Prime Minister; Whenever members of the press or media ask me—in my capacity as a minister—about this, I state very clearly: our leader, Rahul Gandhi, will become the next Prime Minister following the 2029 parliamentary elections. If TVK does not agree to this, the two Congress ministers will not continue to hold their posts. This is the stance we consistently articulate.”
Rajesh Kumar said the Congress ministers would immediately relinquish their ministerial positions if the TVK took a position against Rahul Gandhi’s candidature.
He also claimed that the Congress was gaining popularity among people across sections of society, citing Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.
Rajesh Kumar further said Rahul Gandhi had been accepted as the Prime Ministerial candidate by Congress and voters across the country.
“If the TVK takes a contradictory decision that it would not accept Mr. Gandhi as the Prime Minister candidate, the two Congress Ministers in the Tamil Nadu Cabinet will immediately resign their post,” Kumar said amidst applause from party cadres.
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