With the list of Congress candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections yet to be released, some senior leaders have reportedly opposed a proposal to give the ticket for Pennagaram to former Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president G.K. Mani’s son G.K.M. Tamil Kumaran.
Sources said senior leader K.V. Thangkabalu and two MPs – Karti P. Chidambaram and S. Jothimani – have opposed a move to nominate Mr. Kumaran. Sources claimed Mr. Kumaran’s candidature was backed by a senior TNCC leader and a Congress MP.
“That is when many of us realised that the groundwork had already been laid and some kind of agreement had been reached. It is completely unacceptable,” a leader said.
Mr. Thangkabalu reportedly expressed surprise when Mr. Kumaran’s name was proposed. “Mr. Thangkabalu, in fact, said, let Mr. Kumaran first join the party and meet the Congress leaders. He took exception to the manner in which the ticket is being pushed through,” a source said.
A leader said it is time for introspection on how such decisions could reflect on the party in Tamil Nadu.