Vinay Kumar
NEW DELHI: BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan on Saturday attacked the Congress in Tamil Nadu, alleging that the party was facing a “deep divide” after MP Jothimani publicly raised concerns over a lack of transparency in constituency selection ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.In a post on X, Kesavan said the developments reflected a larger pattern within the party and also targeted the DMK-Congress alliance in the state.“Rahul Gandhi’s Congress is a deeply divided house and is in total disarray in Tamil Nadu. Their Party MP from TN is now publicly attacking Congress leadership for having no transparency. There is a definite pattern to this. Rahul Gandhi’s point person in the Bihar elections was gheraoed by Congress workers for allegedly selling tickets. This is why the Compromised Congress has lost credibility with people across the country. The opportunistic DMK -Congress alliance is in tatters, and the disaster model DMK Govt’s misrule, which has been one of the worst regimes in the history of Tamil Nadu, will be categorically rejected by the people in the coming elections,” the BJP leader wrote.Kesavan’s remarks came after Jothimani publicly questioned the Congress party’s constituency selection process, alleging that decisions were taken in a “highly secretive manner” and that the welfare of the party had been compromised.“There is absolutely no transparency in the Congress party’s constituency selection. Our view that constituency selection should be done only after transparency and extensive discussion has not been accepted by the responsible leaders. Everything happened in a highly secretive manner. The welfare of the Congress party has been entirely compromised. It is heartbreaking to see a few individuals, who haven’t even bothered to pluck a single feather from the decades-long hard work of genuine Congress party workers like us for the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, now selling it off,” Jothimani wrote on X.She also warned that the party could face serious consequences in Tamil Nadu if the same approach is followed during candidate selection.“One cannot remain silent in the face of this terrible situation without raising questions. The party is not just the responsible leaders, the state president, and the legislative party leader. The sentiments and labour of lakhs of workers are what make the party. We can discuss this in detail once the list is released. If candidate selection is also going to happen with this same selling approach, no one can save the Congress party in Tamil Nadu.“The political developments come as the DMK alliance continues preparations for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has announced that its ‘Rising Sun’ symbol will contest in nearly 175 constituencies in the state.So far, the DMK alliance has allotted seats to nine parties, including Congress (28), MDMK (4), IUML (2), MMK (2), KMDK (2), CPI (5), CPM (5), VCK (8), and DMDK (10). A total of 66 seats have been allocated to allies, with seven of them being contested under the DMK symbol.With remaining allocations expected, the DMK will directly contest 168 seats, while allied candidates in seven seats will also contest under the Rising Sun symbol, taking the total to 175 seats under the DMK symbol.Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4.
