Puducherry Assembly Elections 2026: Vijay attacks Congress and BJP; seeks votes for TVK

Chennai: Campaigning for his party candidates in Puducherry, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay on Saturday attacked both the DMK-Congress and AINRC-BJP alliances for not granting statehood to the Union Territory despite being in power at the Centre for many years.

This is the first time Vijay has openly criticized the Congress – he hoped for an alliance with the national party in Tamil Nadu – by terming its alliance with the DMK in Puducherry and the neighbouring state as a “confused one.”

Vijay, who received a rousing reception from his supporters and the general public on his way from Chennai to Puducherry, also appealed to the voters in the UT to cast their ballots in favour of the TVK. His party is contesting 28 seats, while the remaining two have been allotted to an ally.

“Congress has been in power in the UT more than five times and we also saw how a Congress cheated his own leader in front of the media. You all know the condition of the Congress here and the DMK has been in power thrice. Both are in an alliance now but they are contesting against each other in a few constituencies,” Vijay said.

He was referring to former Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy who was caught lying while wrongly translating the woes of a farmer to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the 2021 election campaign.

“The DMK-Congress alliance is confused not just in Tamil Nadu, but also in Puducherry. The other alliance (AINRC-BJP) is tired after a lot of fighting between them. They also spread a lot of rumours against us,” Vijay said.

The actor-politician alleged that both the Congress and BJP have time and again ignored the people’s demand for granting statehood to Puducherry.

“You need a good government that works in your interests. Vote for TVK; we will ensure that your needs are fulfilled,” he added.