Congress workers from Sivaganga district have complained to a five-member fact-finding committee that former Union minister P. Chidambaram and his son, MP Karti Chidambaram, were responsible for the party’s defeat in the Karaikudi constituency. The complaint relates to the loss of Congress candidate Mangudi.
According to the workers, many cadres were unhappy with Chidambaram’s role in ensuring the Congress continued in the DMK-led alliance for the Assembly election. They said that although Chidambaram campaigned extensively in Karaikudi—walking street to street and seeking votes—party workers ended up voting for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
They also claimed that Chidambaram supporter Sundarrajan distanced himself from the party after not getting an opportunity to contest from Karaikudi. In addition, they alleged that during campaigning, Karti adopted a domineering approach with party functionaries, leaving several of them disheartened.
The complainants further said remarks criticising a majority community—by suggesting “dominant forces are calling the shots”—hurt the Congress candidate’s prospects and cost votes. They added that with Chidambaram and Karti repeatedly holding the MP position in Sivaganga, new faces did not get opportunities, leading some office-bearers to step aside.
They pointed out that TVK candidate and minister Prabhu, who won Karaikudi by a margin of 46,000 votes, comes from a Congress family background. They said Prabhu’s father, Durai Karunanidhi, had earlier served as district secretary of the Congress Jananayaga Peravai, a party run by Chidambaram, and argued that this contributed to Congress votes shifting to TVK.
