TVK to Have Public Meeting in Pondy on Tuesday

Chennai: After the Puducherry administration denied permission for the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) to organize a roadshow in its territory, the top honchos of the party have evinced interest in holding a public meeting at an open ground near the harbor on Tuesday, December 9, as part of their plan to reach out to the people through a series of meetings to prepare for the 2026 Assembly polls.

Even as the work for the meeting began, the party president Vijay had two visitors at his Mandaveli apartment in Chennai, indicating a growth in popularity for the party ahead of its maiden electoral venture. One of the visitors was Praveen Chakravarthy, chairman of the Congress Party’s data analytics department, and the other was Tamil Nadu politician and public speaker Nanjil Sampath, who went with a shawl and joined the party.

Sampath's entry into the party did not raise any curiosity as he has shifted political loyalties for at least four times in the last 13 years. From the MDMK he went to the AIADMK and then to the AMMK and finally joined the DMK and even campaigned for the party. But for adding muscle to the TVK’s public speakers’ club the party does not have that many orators Sampath will make no difference to the party’ electoral prospects.

But Praveen Chakravarthy, who refused to divulge the details of his long conversation with Vijay, meeting the party TVK president triggered a wave of speculations on the possible realignment of forces for the 2026 elections. The rumour was that the Congress was not satisfied with the outcome of the meeting its committee, headed by AICC in charge for Tamil Nadu Girish Chodankar, had with Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday.

So Praveen Chakravarthy getting an appointment with Vijay was seen as something akin to the preliminary meeting that former AIADMK minister K A Sengottiayan had with Vijay, the day before joining the TVK. Some others suspected that since Chakravarthy is said to be close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party might have assigned him with the task of exploring the possibilities of tying with the TVK.

Even as these developments were on, the TVK leaders were out to finalise the date for the party’s next political outing, the public meeting, at Puducherry, where they actually wanted to hold a roadshow since the fans of Vijay would pour into the Union Territory from all the regions surrounding it in Tamil Nadu and make it a grand show.

But fearing trouble, the Union Territory administration denied permission for the roadshow and allowed the party to hold a public meeting at the ground, enabling the party to continue its political campaign that faced a setback after the stampede at Karur on September 27.