TVK chief C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday announced that his party would hand over Tamil Nadu’s lone Rajya Sabha seat to the Congress, calling the party an ally in the state.
In a statement quoted by Hindustan Times, Vijay said, “As Rajya Sabha election is to be held in Tamil Nadu on 18th of this month, a seat has been allocated to the All India Congress party, which is part of the alliance led by TVK in Tamil Nadu.”
The seat had become vacant after AIADMK leader C Ve Shanmugam resigned from the Upper House following his election to the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
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🚨 Political Signal from Tamil Nadu
— FOCUS PLUS OFFICIAL (@Focusplusnews) June 4, 2026
🔹 CM Vijay allocates the state's lone vacant Rajya Sabha seat to Congress.
🔹 Move strengthens the TVK-Congress alliance.
🔹 Congress' support remains crucial for government stability.
🔹 Praveen Chakravarty likely to emerge as Congress… pic.twitter.com/8KYYHElFAc
A seat sought, and perhaps soon secured
The announcement followed meetings between Vijay and Congress leaders, including the party’s Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram at the Secretariat.
Hindustan Times reported that Chodankar told reporters the Congress had pressed for the seat to strengthen its position in the Rajya Sabha, saying, “We have asked for that seat.
Because we want to have better strength in the Rajya Sabha and so we impressed upon the chief minister.” Political circles are speculating that Congress strategist Praveen Chakravarty could emerge as the party’s nominee, though no formal announcement has been made.
With TVK allotting its Rajya Sabha seat to Congress, all eyes are now on the nominee.
— Towards Public Policy (@ThePublicPolicy) June 3, 2026
Praveen Chakravarty remains the frontrunner, ahead of K. Selvaperunthagai, S. Thirunavukkarasar, Jothimani, and Manickam Tagore.#RajyaSabha #TVK #Congress #PraveenChakravarty #Vijay #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/Xs3XNwhdF1
Strength today, calculations for tomorrow
Congress leaders welcomed the development as a gain for their parliamentary strength.
Congress MP Jothimani said, “This will strengthen the Congress' voice in the Rajya Sabha to take on the might of the BJP.”
The party’s candidate for the Upper House seat would be decided by its central election authority. The move is being viewed within Congress as a way to deepen cooperation with TVK ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and future political contests in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
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Not everyone is inclined to applaud
The decision drew criticism from the DMK.
DMK spokesperson A. Saravanan said TVK was avoiding direct confrontation with the BJP in Parliament by letting Congress take that role, a charge the TVK rejected.
A senior TVK functionary told, “There is no outsourcing. We are strengthening our alliance with the Congress. What will we do with just one MP?”
The Rajya Sabha poll in Tamil Nadu is scheduled for June 18, with nominations having opened on June 1.
