Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram visited Coimbatore on Tuesday, but the party’s candidates in the district did not meet him, triggering a buzz within the local unit.
In Coimbatore district, the Congress has been allotted the Goundampalayam and Singanallur constituencies. Sreenidhi has been named as the candidate for Singanallur, while Suriya Prakash will contest from Goundampalayam.
Chidambaram arrived at the Coimbatore airport on Tuesday afternoon and campaigned in the evening in Coimbatore South and Sulur constituencies, before heading to Erode for further campaigning at night. However, he did not campaign in the two constituencies where Congress is contesting in Coimbatore.
Party sources said he did not campaign there as the visit was on an invitation from the DMK, and because seats were not given to his supporters in Coimbatore. Meanwhile, Congress functionaries alleged that neither candidate received Chidambaram at the airport or met him even when he stayed at a hotel between 3 pm and 4.30 pm.
Leaders in the local unit said Chidambaram is expected to be in Coimbatore on Wednesday as well, and that a meeting before he leaves could help bring senior workers—who are reportedly unhappy—back into election work. Otherwise, they warned, the issue may continue to deepen the party’s internal differences.
