New Delhi/Chennai, April 3 The Congress on Friday announced a list of 27 candidates for the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, re-nominating 12 sitting MLAs and fielding two women, even as senior leader and MP S Jothimani expressed her reservations over the choice of nominees while the TNCC president offered to step down post-polls following dissent.
The national party had been allotted a total of 28 seats by ally DMK, after some hard-bargaining between the traditional allies.
While Jothimani, Lok Sabha MP from Karur, rued the lesser representation to a backward community and women as "against" the Congress' principle of social justice, TN Congress chief K Selvaperunthagai announced to step down from his post after the election results were declared.
He has been re-nominated from Sriperumbudur, a reserved seat.
Amidst dissent from some party members over the representation, he said he would focus on serving the people of his constituency, Sriperumbudur, the seat he represents in the outgoing Assembly.
Selvaperunthagai surprised everyone by saying he would resign "with satisfaction" after the polls and concentrate only on serving the people of his constituency.
"I am getting geared up to involve myself fully in serving the people of the Sriperumbudur constituency," he said. As president of the party for two years, he had formulated schemes but "there were some difficulties in maintaining ties," he said.
"I will serve my constituency as a son of the soil. Someone else will take over after the election results are announced," he told reporters in Chennai.
Hailing the decision to renominate 12 sitting MLAs, Jothimani said that she could understand the "frustration and turmoil" of the Congress workers in the remaining constituencies.
"The candidates have been decided in advance, and the constituencies have been secured accordingly. It is painful that many who have been working in the Congress party with dedication for a long time, who have the qualifications, have people's influence, and have a chance of success have been denied an opportunity. While many have worked for twenty or thirty years, some who joined the party a few days or a few years ago with no field experience have been given a chance," she claimed in a post on the social media platform 'X.'
The Kongu Vellalar Gounder community and the Arundhatiyar communities, which are influential and constitute the majority community in the 38 assembly constituencies in the western region of Tamil Nadu, have been completely denied a chance, she said and added that this was "something that never happened before in the political and electoral history of Tamil Nadu."
"Similarly, the Congress party, which has demanded six reserved constituencies out of 28 seats, has denied opportunity to the most backward and marginalized community, the Arundhatiyar. Only two women have been given an opportunity. This is against the social justice principle of the Congress party and the political stance of its leader Rahul Gandhi, who fights for the marginalised people of the society," Jothimani said.
It was clear that the TNCC president, legislature party leader and in-charges have no concern about the future of the Congress in Tamil Nadu, she said and added that every Congress worker has the right to reject their list.
"That is the strong democratic nature of the Congress party. Our efforts to stop this disaster have not succeeded. But we have absorbed the feelings of the real Congress workers and reflected their thoughts. All that remains is the satisfaction that we have not abandoned them," she said.
For a person who worked for the Congress for 30 years, through difficult and challenging times, and working with emotional attachment, for the first time she felt "alien," Jothimani said and added that she would talk about this in detail only after the election is over.
"Now, I express my love and support to every Congress worker who has proudly held the party flag high even though the Congress was not in power in Tamil Nadu for almost 60 years. I salute their dedication," Jothimani, who had earlier ruffled the feathers of some DMK leaders with her demand for power-sharing, said.
According to the list, Selvaperunthagai will contest from the Sriperumbudur (SC) constituency while its legislative party leader in Assembly, S Rajesh Kumar, has been fielded from Killiyoor. Former MP A Chella Kumar is in the fray from Krishnagiri.
Durai Chandrasekar has been fielded from Ponneri (SC), while J M H Aassan Maulaana has been renominated from Velachery, and A M Munirathinam from Sholingur. The party has nominated G K M Tamil Kumaran for Pennagaram, Gopinath Palaniyappan for Erode (East), and B Ramachandran for Udhagamandalam.
Key candidates for Coimbatore include K P Surya Prakash in Kavundampalayam, and V Shrinithi Naidu in Singanallur, while the sitting MLAs Tharagai Cuthbert has been nominated for Colachel, and T T Praveen for Vilavancode.
The Congress will contest 28 out of 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu in a coalition with the ruling DMK.
The election results will be announced on May 4.