There is still a lot of time left for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, but the conflict over the face of the post of Prime Minister has already reached its peak in the political circles of the country and especially in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The rhetoric that started within the opposition camp regarding the candidature for the post of Prime Minister has now taken the form of a major political crisis. A direct conflict is clearly visible between the ruling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) and its main coalition partner Congress Party over who should be the next Prime Minister of the country. This tussle has created an upheaval in the politics of the state and the situation has worsened to such an extent that Congress ministers have even given an open threat of resigning from the cabinet. Support the name of Rahul Gandhi otherwise the Congress minister will leave the cabinet. There was a stir in the politics of Tamil Nadu when a prominent minister of the state government, S. Rajesh Kumar showed a very aggressive attitude and made a blunt announcement. He said in clear words that if the coalition partner TVK refuses to accept and support Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the upcoming 2029 general elections, then he and his fellow minister P. Vishwanathan will immediately resign from their ministerial posts. During a public event organized in Kanyakumari, Rajesh Kumar asserted that Rahul Gandhi is the most worthy and only contender to become the next Prime Minister of the country and his party will not back down from its stand on the issue at any cost. Earlier on Friday, Higher Education Minister P. Vishwanathan had also clarified the position in strong words that at the national level, Rahul Gandhi is the undisputed and universally accepted face of the post of PM from the INDIA alliance. This tough stance of the Congress leaders has made it clear that they are not ready to make any kind of compromise in the name of their central leadership, even if it means jeopardizing the existence of the present government of the state. Controversy increased due to TVK leaders' demand to make Chief Minister Vijay the Prime Minister The root of this entire political controversy are the statements of TVK leaders in which a strong demand was raised to make Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay i.e. popular actor Thalapathy Vijay the Prime Minister of the country for the year 2029. Recently, State Minister M. Sarathkumar had given a controversial statement openly praising Chief Minister Vijay, in which he had said that the leader who is the Chief Minister in our hearts, in our homes and in the St. George Fort of the Secretariat, only he has the full potential to become the next Prime Minister of the country. Such ambitious demands being raised continuously from the TVK camp have made the Congress party completely uncomfortable. The Congress believes that such regional claims weaken opposition unity and harm the party's standing at the national level. These voices being raised within the regional party have exposed the lack of mutual trust between the two parties, due to which the dissatisfaction within the alliance has now started coming out on the streets. Mathematics of Tamil Nadu Assembly seats and necessity of support: If we understand the electoral numbers and mathematics of seats of Tamil Nadu Assembly, then out of the total 234 assembly seats of the state, TVK has 107 MLAs on its own, while the magic figure of majority for the formation of the government is 118 seats. Lacking a clear majority, TVK essentially needed the support of the Congress party with 5 seats, the MDMK and other smaller allies to form the government. In the month of May this year, the formation of TVK led government in the state was possible only due to the support of Congress Party and other allies. Political analysts believe that when the very existence of the government depends on the support of Congress, in such a situation, TVK leaders making such claims regarding the post of Prime Minister and ignoring Congress can prove to be a huge political mistake. MDMK chief Vaiku's open support to Congress and Rahul Gandhi Amidst this entire incident, MDMK chief Vaiku, another important ally of the alliance, has openly supported Congress and Rahul Gandhi. While talking to the media, Vaiku bluntly said that at the national level, Congress Party is leading the INDIA alliance, hence on the basis of ideological and numerical strength, the country cannot have any other option for the post of PM other than Rahul Gandhi. Giving strong advice to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, he said that he should immediately rein in those ministers and leaders of his party who are making such absurd and indecent claims. It is clear from Vaiku's statement that other constituent parties of the alliance also consider the role of Congress at the national level as paramount and do not want to let the alliance break due to regional ambitions. Reality and national scenario of 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu: Political experts also believe that there are a total of 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. In such a situation, even if the TVK Party performs miraculously in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2029 and wins all 39 seats in the state, still they do not have a strong claim on the basis of numbers for the post of Prime Minister in national politics. If we look at the current national political scenario, Congress is the largest all India party in the opposition camp, whose support base is spread in many states. In such a situation, it is practically not possible for a regional party to stake claim to the post of Prime Minister. This is why the Congress Party and its allies are in no mood to adopt any kind of lax attitude on this issue and have made it clear through their aggressive strategy that they are not going to back down from their national priorities.
