Cappuccino, Tiramisu, cookies and a dash of politics. Chennai witnessed a heady blend of camaraderie and political chemistry on Saturday, as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay spent some quality time together.
For the cameras, it was a field day. For social media, there were enough viral moments in the making.
A beaming Vijay was at the entrance of his suburban Neelankarai residence to receive Rahul Gandhi, who arrived for a meeting that lasted about an hour. The two leaders discussed politics, but it was the bonhomie on display outside the formal setting that caught the eye.
Neelankarai, a posh and relatively quiet neighbourhood on Chennai’s outskirts, sits close to the beach along the East Coast Road. It was here that the day’s political chemistry first played out, before the two leaders took their camaraderie to a nearby cafe.
Rahul Gandhi and Vijay at a Chennai cafe
Photo Credit: NDTV Photo
And then came the cappuccino-and-tiramisu moment.
The two reportedly ordered cappuccino, Tiramisu and cookies, turning an otherwise routine political meeting into an informal cafe outing. As excited onlookers gathered around them, Rahul and Vijay mingled with the crowd. Some lucky ones even managed to squeeze in selfies with the two leaders, while the cameras made sure none of the action went unnoticed.
After the cafe outing, Rahul Gandhi proceeded to a hotel in the city.
He is in Chennai for the latest edition of his youth outreach programme, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, scheduled to be held at the sprawling Island Grounds on Saturday evening.
According to the organisers, more than one lakh students have registered through website and QR codes circulated across Tamil Nadu.
The Congress and TVK forged an alliance after the Assembly election results threw up a hung verdict, with Vijay’s party emerging as the largest party. The Congress broke away from its longstanding ally, the DMK, to extend support to the TVK government.
Saturday’s meeting was as much about politics as it was about optics. A warm welcome, a relaxed cafe stop and selfies with an excited crowd offered a glimpse of the bonhomie between two leaders whose parties have found common ground in Tamil Nadu’s post-election arithmetic.
