CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Manickam Tagore on Saturday reiterated that Rahul Gandhi remains the Congress's Prime Ministerial candidate, even as the party prepares to participate in the TVK's friendly parties' conference on September 9.
Tagore made the remarks while speaking to reporters after interacting with the visiting TVK ministers N Anand and Aadhav Arjuna at Sathyamurthy Bhavan in Chennai.
Despite sources in Congress saying that Saturday's meeting was held in a less-than-cordial atmosphere, with the leaders remaining silent for most of the time, Tagore said that the PM candidate conflict with the TVK was a matter of the past. Rahul Gandhi is the only PM face, he asserted and confirmed Congress' participation in the September 9 TVK friendlies' meeting.
But the Congress source said the atmosphere at Saturday's meeting contrasted with their earlier interactions, when the leaders had met in a friendly manner and spent considerable time discussing the political situation in Tamil Nadu.
"This time, the scenario was completely different," the source said.
The meeting came a day after Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, R Nirmal Kumar and Rajmohan personally met leaders of the Left and MDMK and invited them to the TVK's friendly parties' conference, which will be led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
During Saturday's meeting, Tagore held discussions with Anand and Aadhav Arjuna in the presence of Congress ministers Viswanathan and Rajesh Kumar and other senior party functionaries.
Tagore said the Congress would participate in the September 9 conference. "We assume that the TVK alliance will be named at that meeting," he said.
Asked about the Prime Ministerial candidate, Tagore said, "Our Prime Ministerial candidate is Rahul Gandhi."
He described the issue as a "closed chapter" and accused some people of being keen to break the secular-social justice alliance. "That will not happen," he said.