Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C Joseph Vijay over lunch in Chennai on Saturday, October 10. This was their first meeting since the TVK-led Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance was formally named.
The two leaders met at Vijay’s residence in Neelankarai, where they discussed the political situation and the alliance’s future plans for about an hour, according to media reports. All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president, Manickam Tagore, accompanied Rahul.
After lunch, Vijay and Rahul travelled in the same car to a café in Palavakkam, where they spent some time before Rahul left for Island Grounds to attend the sixth edition of the Congress’s youth outreach programme, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, known in Tamil as ‘Maanavargalin Kural’.
The meeting came days after the TVK formally joined the INDIA bloc and a day after the party retained the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies in the bye-polls. The ruling alliance comprises the TVK, Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Rahul had also attended Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony as chief minister on May 10.
The meeting assumes significance amid differences within the alliance over its political positioning ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. A section of TVK leaders has projected Vijay as a potential prime ministerial candidate, while Congress leaders have maintained that Rahul Gandhi remains their choice for the post.
The lunch meeting also came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Chennai on Sunday.
Rahul’s visit was primarily centred on the student interaction at Island Grounds, where young people raised questions on education, employment and competitive examinations. The Congress has presented the event as a platform for students to speak directly to the party leader about issues affecting their futures.
Speaking at the student event, Rahul accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using force to suppress dissent, asserting that his “game is over.” Addressing student concerns over the detentions in Delhi, he said, “I want to make it very clear to every single student who is protesting not only in Delhi [but] across the country: You have nothing to fear. We are with you and we are going to make sure that Mr. Narendra Modi, Mr. Amit Shah [Home Minister], Mr. Mohan Bhagwat [RSS chief], Mr. Ajit Doval [National Security Adviser], and this group of conspirators who have destroyed Indian democracy, who are using Mr. Gyanesh Kumar [Chief Election Commissioner] to steal elections, are brought to justice.”
Rahul’s visit also came amid Opposition protests against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities. The Congress has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of irregularities in the electoral process, allegations the poll body has disputed.
Security was tightened across Chennai ahead of Rahul’s programme and Modi’s visit. Around 15,000 police personnel were deployed under a five-tier security arrangement, according to reports. Police restricted access to the student event to registered participants and barred the general public from entering the venue.
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