Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay turned 52 on Monday, drawing birthday wishes from across the political spectrum, including one from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who pledged to stand with the actor-turned-politician who is the newest ally of the Grand Old Party.Rahul Gandhi attended Vijay's swearing-in, after the Congress backed his party TVK at the cost of angering longtime ally DMK. (File Photos: ANI, PTI)"Wishing the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Joseph Vijay, a very happy birthday. I wish you good health and success in all your efforts. I stand with you in defending the rights, dignity, and aspirations of the Tamil people, and in working together for the state's progress," Rahul Gandhi posted on X.Vijay replied with, “Thank you so much for your kind wishes, Hon’ble Leader of the Opposition avargal”, the last word there serving as an added honorific in Tamil.The greeting, coming just three days after Vijay had wished Gandhi on his 56th birthday in equally warm terms, underlined the growing public bonhomie between the two leaders, even as the broader Tamil Nadu alliance picture remains in flux following the assembly election results last month.Main opposition party DMK's president and former CM MK Stalin also greeted Vijay, though his message was brief: “I wish you the strength to continue to serve the public with joy and good health.” DMK MP K Kanimozhi posted wishes for Vijay too.MK Stalin had also wished Rahul Gandhi on his birthday last week, getting a warm reply that fed speculation about whether the Congress-led INDIA bloc can weather the flux after the Congress-Vijay axis came at a cost to the longtime Congress-DMK relationship.What it means for INDIA blocAfter the elections, the Congress extended support to Vijay's TVK, which had emerged as the single largest party, rather than staying with the losing incumbent DMK. The move drew sharp reactions from within the DMK immediately. Party leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, MK Stalin's son and widely seen as his political heir, alleged that Congress had “betrayed” the DMK. In its official mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’, the DMK said that while Congress seeks the support of its allies during national parliamentary elections, it often works to undermine them during state-level polls.The DMK later also missed a meeting of the INDIA bloc in New Delhi, and sought separate seating, away from the Opposition bloc, in Parliament.This at a time when the BJP-led NDA is increasing its numbers in the House as a result of splits in regional parties, including Bengal's TMC of Mamata Banerjee and the Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra.An immediate follow-up could be that the Modi regime manages a two-third strength to pass a Delimitation Bill — to redraw constituency numbers and boundaries — that it had failed to in April, citing it as a prerequisite to giving women 33% quota.Such a delimitation has been opposed historically by parties in Tamil Nadu and other southern states as they fear further loss of seats to the more populous North India. The DMK had in fact backed an alternative bill to give the women's quota in the present strength of the Lok Sabha and state legislatures rather than carry out a delimitation citing just that.Vijay, who has no MPs, has shown affinity towards Congress since before he started his own party, and affirmed his commitment to a “secular government”, keeping a distance from the Hindutva-driven BJP.The INDIA bloc does have such state-Centre dichotomy otherwise too, such as the Left being part of the bloc at the Centre but fighting the Congress in the southern state of Kerala.Of ‘brothers’ and ‘saving the Constitution’For Tamil Nadu therefore, the birthday exchanges could become a public barometer of how the shifting of ties play out, with the 2029 Lok Sabha elections also in sight.When Rahul Gandhi turned 56 on June 19, Vijay addressed him as "my dear brother" and wished him “good health and a long life”.Stalin, who in 2025 had called Gandhi his “brother in ideals, bound not by blood, but by thought, vision, and purpose”, this year sent a brief and formal message to Gandhi.“Birthday greetings to Hon'ble Leader of Opposition Thiru Rahul Gandhi. Wishing you good health and happiness,” he wrote.Rahul Gandhi, responding to Stalin, sought to keep channels open: “Our shared resolve to defend the idea of India, our Constitution, and federalism will continue to guide us. This is the fight for the very soul of our democracy, and we will wage it together, until we win.”To Vijay, the Congress leader's reply was similarly constitutional in framing: “We remain united in our commitment to the Constitution and to strengthening our democracy — and together, we will keep working for the welfare, dignity, and aspirations of the people of Tamil Nadu.”Modi, AIADMK leader send wishesPrime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to post his wishes to Vijay. BJP state chief Nainar Nagenthran posted a photograph of Vijay and wished him long life. Edappadi K Palaniswami of the AIADMK, BJP's senior ally in the state, also wished Vijay “a long life and good health in serving the people”.Vijay was replying on X one by one to each, mostly with: “Thank you for your heartfelt wishes."Makkal Needhi Maiam president and MP Kamal Haasan, a fellow actor-politician and an ally of the opposition DMK, also extended his greetings.Chandrasekar Joseph Vijay, born on June 22, 1974, to director and filmmaker Chandrasekar and Shoba, is marking his first birthday as CM. The celebrated actor, called ‘Thalapathy’ (Tamil for commander) by fans, launched the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) two years ago and piloted the party to 107 seats in the 234-member assembly — short of a simple majority of 118. He subsequently formed a coalition government with the support of Congress, the Left parties, VCK, and the IUML, all of whom were otherwise allies of the DMK.Vijay also received wishes from ministers Aadhav Arjuna and Keerthana, and scores of TVK leaders and cadres.