The Political Payback: Why Vijay Allotted Tamil Nadu's Sole Rajya Sabha Seat To Congress?

Rajya Sabha Elections 2026: The Congress on Thursday released its list of candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, scheduled to be held on June 18, nominating Praveen Chakravarty from Tamil Nadu.

While the Congress does not have enough seats to secure a victory on its own, Chakravarty is the beneficiary of what can be seen as a gift by Chief Minister Vijay's Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to the Grand Old Party.

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A Gesture Of Bonhomie

The Congress released its list of candidates hours after Vijay allotted the lone Tamil Nadu Rajya Sabha seat to the grand old party, a significant gesture highlighting the growing bonhomie between the two parties.

Following the announcement, Chakravarty expressed his gratitude to both the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and CM Vijay.

Calling himself "the first MP candidate of the Tamil Nadu Social Justice Progressive Alliance (TVK INC VCK IUML CPI CPM)", Chakravarty stated that if elected, he would carry the mandate of alliance workers into Parliament and serve as an honest voice for the people of the state.

The Political Payback

Vijay is essentially paying back for the Congress's crucial support in helping the TVK form the government in Tamil Nadu.

When the TVK fell short of the required numbers to form the government, the Congress was the first to extend its support with its five MLAs. Over the next few days, smaller parties like the CPI, CPI(M), IUML, and VCK joined the alliance, and Vijay took oath as Chief Minister on May 10.

According to Chakravarty, who heads the Congress's Data Analytics and Professionals Wings, this coalition was not merely a 'post-poll decision'. In an interview with Rediff, he revealed that the majority of Tamil Nadu Congress workers favoured an alliance with the TVK even before the elections, noting that he played a 'role' in the formation of the alliance.

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Fallout With DMK

However, bonhomie between the Congress and TVK appears to have cost the grand old party its long-standing ally, the MK Stalin-led DMK. The DMK has announced that it would skip the June 8 meeting of the INDIA Bloc, citing deep resentment of its cadre and supporters after what it labelled a 'betrayal' of the Congress.