TN Cong weakening due to internal conflict: MP

Congress MP from Karur district, S Jothimani, on Friday said that internal conflicts and dilution of ideology are weakening the Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress party and it is gradually moving towards the path of destruction .

“The events unfolding in the Tamil Nadu Congress are a source of profound concern,” Jothimani said in a long post on X. “The unchecked internal party conflicts persisting in Tamil Nadu Congress are causing profound disillusionment.”

She said that the issues unfolding in the Tamil Nadu Congress were deeply worrying and described the situation as unprecedented, adding that no political party would normally obstruct its own Member of Parliament from submitting a booth agent list to the Election Commission during elections.

She said the current functioning of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee is in contrast with the party’s national leadership led by leader Rahul Gandhi’s “fearless and selfless politics” whose efforts and sacrifices they must not deviate from at a critical time when the state is facing threats from communal and divisive forces.

“In this context, all political parties bear the responsibility to handle the impending election with utmost care. However, it is impossible to avoid the question of whether the Congress party truly grasps the magnitude of this responsibility.”

This latest controversy over X by Congress party leaders follows Praveen Chakravarthy, the party’s data wing chief, unfavourably comparing Tamil Nadu’s debt levels to that of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh in a post on December 28.

Jothimani and several DMK and Congress leaders had criticised Chakravarthy’s post. On Thursday former Union finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said total debt is not the right metric to assess a state. Chakravarthy had said that the DMK-led state has the highest outstanding debt.

“Assessing a state’s economic condition based solely on its total debt is incorrect,” Chidambaram said. “From the US to the UK, Japan, France, and Canada, all developed countries see their total debt increase every year. India’s total debt, as well as that of all its states rises annually. This is normal.”

Chakravarthy had met Vijay privately in Chennai in December. His post fuelled speculation that there is a section of the Congress that wants to leave their alliance with DMK and join actor Vijay’s Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). A section of the Congress have also been demanding a share in power with the DMK in the 2026 assembly elections.

Reacting to Jothimani’s statement, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai said that he has been solving whatever complaints that he has been receiving. “I won’t blame her but I’m shocked about her tweet,” he said. “According to me, she’s my dear sister. Only she can explain her tweet. There is an internal problem in her district. I’ve also given her a solution for that.”

Another Congress leader said that Jothimani and the BLA had some trouble over the electoral roll in Karur. “The BLAs have been given full powers by the party. Whatever the issue was should have been sorted out internally and not been posted on X,” said a Congress leader who did not wish to be named.