Metro ride with PM Modi, cappuccino with LoP Rahul: How CM Vijay is navigating political equations in Tamil Nadu
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch of Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail Project, built at a cost of around ₹4,900 crore. PM Modi also took a ride on the stretch with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay in company.
PM Modi and CM Vijay together flagged off the new services and travelled on the train in the presence of Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. The PM bought a ticket and also interacted briefly with the employee in the ticket counter.
Just a day before Chief Minisrer Vijay visited Bask by Coffee (Bask Cafe) in Palavakkam, Chennai, accompanied by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Prior to the cafe outing, Rahul Gandhi met with Vijay at the Chief Minister’s residence in Neelankarai, Chennai, for about an hour to discuss political matters
The two engagements with two political adversaries over two days took place amid “Vijay for PM” chorus by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) supporters.
In fact, during the PM event in Chennai on Sunday, some persons displayed placards projecting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay as the “next PM”.
The incident occurred at the IIT Madras campus, where PM Modi was addressing a gathering after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for projects worth ₹13,000 crore across sectors in the state. CM Vijay was present.
In the middle of PM Modi’s speech, suddenly when he mentioned Vijay’s name, a bunch of people, likely supporters of the CM, started whistling and whipped out handwritten placards bearing his photographs and slogans, including “Next PM Vijay 2029”.
Immediately, the police deployed at the venue intervened and the said individuals were instructed to sit down and lower the placards. Although they sat down, once the the police turned their back, they continued to hold out their placards, gesturing wildly towards the video cameras so that they can be recorded.
The Congress supports the TVK government in Tamil Nadu and TVK has already announced that it is part of INDIA bloc. But at the same time Congress has been pitching Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial face for the 2029 Lok Sabha election.
Chief Minister Vijay’s lunch and coffee meeting with Rahul was perhaps aimed at dispelling speculation that all was not well between the allies.
‘Union and state governments working in tandem’
At Sunday’s event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the Tamil language and culture, invoked ‘Thirukkural’ and pledged to take forward Tamil Nadu’s progress by working with Chief Minister Vijay, who asserted that the union and state governments working in tandem was imperative so that the people benefit.
During the PM’s maiden visit to Tamil Nadu post the April Assembly polls, his bonhomie with CM Vijay was in full display. Twice Modi ensured that the two jointly inaugurated the scheduled projects. Vijay received the PM on his arrival here, as well as saw him off when Modi returned to Delhi.
In his official address at the event, CM Vijay sought steps to make Tamil the principal language of the Madras High Court and requested the release of outstanding central funds amounting to ₹5,110 crore under the SSA scheme without any conditions.
“When the union and state governments work together, its benefit should directly reflect in the lives of the people, and that is our approach,” Vijay, also the founder-chief of ruling TVK, fresh from the victory in bypolls to two Assembly constituencies, said.
DMK-BJP ties
The CM unveiling his government’s approach of cooperating with the Centre comes against the background of the previous DMK regime’s strained ties with the Union government and the office of the Governor over several issues, including NEET.
Among other things, Vijay requested early sanction for Phase-3 of the Chennai Metro project proposed to cover about 65 km to further improve connectivity and reconsider the proposal for Metrorail in Coimbatore and Madurai, and an inter-state Metrorail line from Hosur in Tamil Nadu to Bommasandra near Bengaluru in Karnataka.
He also urged for a high-speed rail corridor from Chennai to Kanyakumari and Chennai to Coimbatore.
The PM, while flagging off the new Metro train and also during the inauguration of projects, ensured that Vijay joined him and though they interacted briefly during official events, a sense of bonhomie was evident as the CM joined Modi in his visit to a temple as well.
“When the union and state governments work together, its benefit should directly reflect in the lives of the people, and that is our approach.”
Referring to Tamil Nadu, he said when he was CM, he got the opportunity to interact with late leaders M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa when they headed the state. And, after becoming prime minister, he could work with former CMs O Panneerselvam, Edappadi K Palaniswami and M K Stalin.
Vijay had ushered in his maiden government by winning the April Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
