The Sivaganga unit of the Indian National Congress is reportedly up in arms against Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. As per reports, former Union Minister EM Sudarshana Natchiappan and senior party leader KR Ramasami are among the voices that want Karti Chidambaram to be dropped from Congress’ Lok Sabha ticket list.
As per reports, displeasure against Karti is not new. Natchiappan had opposed Karti’s candidature back in 2019 too, but had later agreed to support. On February 3, the Sivaganga unit of the TNCC passed the resolution against Karti. Before that, the TNCC had sent a show cause notice to Karti Chidambaram in January, after he appeared to criticise the top Congress leadership.
A resolution passed against Congress leader Karti Chidambaram included condemnation for his remarks about Rahul Gandhi, denying ticket in upcoming elections, and more.
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In an interview with Tamil news channel Thanthi TV in January, Karti had said that no Congress leader, including Rahul Gandhi, can match PM Narendra Modi in propaganda skills. In the 39-minute interview, Karti also indirectly criticised the unpreparedness of the I.N.D.I. Alliance and had stated that the alliance is yet to announce a PM candidate and clear policy or plans. He had added that such things should not be kept for the last moment but should be announced to the public at least 6 months before the elections.
Karti had won the Sivaganga constituency defeating BJP’s H Raja with a significant margin. Indian Express reported citing sources that Natchiappan himself has ambitions to contest from the Sivaganga seat and has been trying to get Karti ‘dropped’. However, P Chidambaram holds a considerable influence in TNCC and many in the party reportedly believe that the Sivaganga seat is ‘reserved’ for Karti, IE further added.
As reported by The Week, Natchiappan stated that the meeting was convened to discuss the appointment of boot agents and carry out groundwork at the booth level. “Karti did not keep the flock together. Many of our party workers have joined BJP in Sivaganga”, Natchiappan added.
There is a buzz in TNCC that even the DMK, Congress’ alliance partner is against Karti and they do not want him to contest elections in Sivaganga. Senior DMK leaders like Raja Kannappan and Periya Karuppan are reportedly trying to get tickets for their own sons in the region.
It is notable here that both Karti Chidambaram and P Chidambaram are out on bail in corruption cases.
