There is dissent in the Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress over the selection of candidates for 25 assembly seats and a Lok Sabha by-poll Kanyakumari seat for which elections will be held on April 6.
On Saturday, Congress MP Vishnu Prasad and his supporters were on a hunger strike stating that those who quit the party and distant relatives of certain unnamed leaders were being offered tickets and being supported by other Congress leaders on social media. Congress, which is in alliance with the principal opposition DMK, has so far announced only its constituencies and is yet to release its list of candidates.
“One person has quit the party a month ago and threatened to come back only if given a ticket and that person is being given a seat, how is it just?” Prasad told reporters. “We are on a fast to protest against the party leadership that isn’t respecting the party cadre. District-level leaders should do all the work for the party but only those with money and power are given seats. How is this democratic? It is alright if leaders’ children seek seats but even in-laws are receiving seats. Look how badly the party has been reduced to. Is this Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) or Commercial or Corporate Committee? If we remain mute anymore, we would be betraying our leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
Congress MP from Karur S Jothimani tweeted in Tamil in support of his claims and said that her ‘blood boils’ over the ‘betrayal’ and that ‘dishonest practices’ followed in candidate selection would only end up helping the ruling AIADMK-BJP alliance.
{{/usCountry}}Congress MP from Karur S Jothimani tweeted in Tamil in support of his claims and said that her ‘blood boils’ over the ‘betrayal’ and that ‘dishonest practices’ followed in candidate selection would only end up helping the ruling AIADMK-BJP alliance.
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“I am aware of the agitated state of minds of Congress cadres…” she tweeted, adding that she has already raised questions on it. “The heartless leaders are drinking the blood of cadres and not listening to the voice of justice.” She said she wouldn’t be an MP if Rahul Gandhi believed in money power and that it was their duty to protect the dignity of the central leadership. Following her tweets, Villupuram MP Manickam Tagore took to Twitter to express his displeasure against the internal rebellion, however, he took no names.
TNCC chief KS Alagiri sought to appease Vishnu Prasad at the headquarters and talks were on-going between them at the Congress office on Saturday night.
Senior Congress leader EVKS Elangovan dismissed any irregularities in the candidate selection. "Every election this will happen with some aggrieved parties, it is nothing serious and is solved now," Elangovan said.
This isn’t the first time that party leaders have made public their displeasure on the internal workings. In January, INC had revamped the state committee ahead of the elections by making several appointments to which Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, in a tweet, commented that such 'jumbo committees serve no purpose’. He said that with several leaders there would be no leader, no authority or accountability.