Chennai: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which has formed the government in Tamil Nadu for the first time, currently has no MPs in either House of Parliament. Against this backdrop, a report says Chief Minister Vijay has decided not to enter the Rajya Sabha for now to avoid a confrontation with the Union government.
The development follows the resignation of former AIADMK minister Shanmugam from his Rajya Sabha post, creating a vacancy for which an election is scheduled on June 18. TVK was widely expected to use the opportunity to send an experienced leader to the Upper House to handle politics in Delhi and face the BJP-led Centre.
However, sources within TVK claim the party has instead allowed the lone available Rajya Sabha seat to go to the Congress. They say it is being offered for Praveen Chakravarthy, the national head of the Congress data analytics wing, who had publicly advocated an alliance with TVK during the Assembly election.
The report also notes that Vijay’s recent Delhi visit on May 27—during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman—was said to have been unsuccessful, and an attempt to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah did not materialise. In this context, TVK sources argue that entering the Rajya Sabha now would force a direct political face-off with the BJP, and that Vijay intends to maintain a cooperative approach with the Centre until the next set of six Rajya Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu due in June 2028.
