AIADMK chief mocks Tamil Nadu leader's US presidential ambitions

Edappadi K Palaniswami, the AIADMK general secretary, publicly dismissed Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s growing profile as a potential national leader, quipping that Vijay could even set his sights on the U.S. presidency. Palaniswami mocked Vijay’s reliance on promotional reels and chartered flights, labeling him a "costly chief minister" and recalling how former chief minister J Jayalalithaa cut expenses by inaugurating projects via video link.

His remarks arrive as TVK officials, including Aadhav Arjuna, KA Sengottaiyan and D Sarathkumar, have been positioning Vijay as a future prime minister, even picturing him raising the Indian flag at the Red Fort. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram stressed that party admiration does not translate into public policy, noting that any prime-ministerial aspirant must command a majority in the Lok Sabha. A private media poll recently listed Vijay among the top choices for the 2029 prime-ministerial race, trailing only Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. The TVK government, formed after the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, governs with support from VCK, IUML, Congress, CPI and CPM.