Rahul Gandhi met CM Vijay over lunch at his Neelankarai home on 10 October, a day after TVK won both by-elections. Their first meeting since the TVK-led alliance was named.
Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay over lunch at the Chief Minister's residence in Neelankarai, Chennai, on Saturday, October 10, 2026. It came a day after TVK won both the Madurantakam and Dharapuram by-elections.
It was the two leaders' first meeting since the TVK-led alliance was named the Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance on September 9 (ThePrint, The South First).
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| About 12:30 pm | Rahul Gandhi landed in Chennai on a special flight from Delhi. Congress workers welcomed him at the airport (The South First). |
| Afternoon | He drove to the Chief Minister's residence in Neelankarai on East Coast Road. Vijay hosted him for lunch. Party sources said they talked for about an hour (South Matters). |
| After lunch | The two leaders stopped for coffee at a café in Palavakkam, then left together in the same car (The South First). Read about the café visit › |
| Evening | Rahul Gandhi's student interaction, Chhatron Ki Goonj (Maanavargalin Kural), at Island Grounds. |
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Manickam Tagore and Congress MPs travelled with Rahul Gandhi (The South First).
Neither side has issued an official statement on the agenda. Reports quoting Congress sources said:
Congress sources called it a courtesy call (The South First).
The Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance is led by Vijay. Its members are TVK, the Congress, the VCK, the IUML and the MDMK. The Congress, VCK and IUML are part of the TVK-led government (News Today). The Congress returned to the Tamil Nadu cabinet in May, after 59 years.
On October 3, TVK attended a meeting of Tamil Nadu INDIA bloc parties at the Congress headquarters in Chennai for the first time. Minister Aadhav Arjuna and Finance Minister Maria Wilson represented TVK. The South First noted that TVK is not formally part of the INDIA bloc.
News Today said this was Rahul Gandhi's third visit to Tamil Nadu since the Assembly election.
Chhatron Ki Goonj is a Congress series of open interactions with students. Chennai is one of its stops, after cities such as Kota, Dehradun, Prayagraj and Indore (ANI).
The meeting was held a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Chennai on October 11. Chief Minister Vijay is due to travel with him on the new Poonamallee–Porur Metro section (News Today). Read: Metro Phase-2 opening tomorrow ›
Sources: The South First; The South First (morning report); ThePrint; ANI; News Today; South Matters; India Today.
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