Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK chief C Joseph Vijay met Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday, marking his first meeting with the Congress leadership since becoming Chief Minister.
The meeting took place at Sonia Gandhi's residence, 10 Janpath, after Vijay held separate discussions with President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan earlier in the day.
While no official details of the discussions were released, political observers believe the meeting may have focused on coalition dynamics in Tamil Nadu. Following the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the Congress reportedly aligned with Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), ending its long-standing association with the M. K. Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The move generated significant political debate and criticism from DMK leaders.
The meeting also comes after Vijay's previous visit to Delhi, during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman but did not meet Rahul Gandhi despite reports that such a meeting had been planned. At the time, Congress MP Christopher Tilak attributed the postponement to scheduling constraints and indicated that a future meeting would take place.
Vijay is also expected to participate in the upcoming NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi. The sequence of meetings with the President, Vice President, Congress leadership, and participation in the NITI Aayog gathering highlights his increasing engagement with national political stakeholders following his rise to the Chief Minister's office.
