Karur, Arani, Tiruvallur, and Tiruchi seats could go to the Congress

There seemed to be significant discussions going on over which constituencies the national party will fight in the Lok Sabha election, even as the allotment of nine seats to the Congress in the DMK-led coalition was finalized last week after some delays.

According to knowledgeable sources, the Congress is not expected to win three or five of the Lok Sabha seats that it ran for and won in 2019. The seats of Tiruchi, Karur, Tiruvallur, and Arani are among those that are unlikely to vote in the Congress. Another option is Theni, which the party did not win in the most recent election.

The main drivers of the shift seem to be alliance partners’ preferences, field reports on the sitting MPs, and their claimed lack of collaboration with local DMK bureaucrats. Congress sources indicated on Wednesday night that Erode, where Jothimani is the current MP, was likely to win over Karur. Remarkably, sources said that Manickam Tagore, the current Member of Parliament for Virudhunagar, is also being evaluated for removal from the Congress.

Significantly, a top Congress official said that the party is probably going to get two reserved seats rather than the one (Tiruvallur) it ran for in 2019.

According to other sources, the DMK is leaning towards ceding its current Cuddalore seat to Congress because of grievances lodged against its Member of Parliament, TRVS Ramesh, who is accused of murder among other offenses.

Both sitting MPs and prospective candidates are in a frenzy due to the unpredictability of the seats; several are camped out in Delhi to engage in lobbying with the AICC leadership. The BJP-led coalitions and AIADMK are splitting the opposition votes, so if they manage to compete, they are certain they can win. This is why they are engaging in heavy lobbying.

Former MPs SS Ramasubbu, P Viswanathan, K Rani, Vazhapadi Rama Suganthan, Louis Adaikalaraj, and S Peter Alphonse are among the candidates running for Congress. Although Alphonse denied being interested, rumors had it otherwise.

Posters requesting Louis Adaikalaraj be given the Tiruchy seat have appeared close to Satyamurthi Bhavan. Adaikalaraj said, citing his three-generational history, “It is my right to request a seat from the party.” However, I will accept the party’s choice without hesitation.

P Viswanathan, a former member of parliament from Kancheepuram, claimed that he was one of the few members who ran in 2014 when the party did not form an alliance. In order to get a ticket in one of the reserved seats, he has been pleading with the party leadership. “The party should give me a ticket to represent Vanniyar community,” said Vazhapadi Rama Suganthan, who is the son of former union minister Vazhapadi K Ramamoorthi, to TNIE.