CHENNAI: The resignation of senior Congress leader and Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore as chairman of the Election Management and Coordination Committee has exposed factional feud within the party ahead of the April 23 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
The move has brought to the fore simmering tensions within the State unit over the process of finalising candidates. Party sources said disagreements among senior leaders and functionaries had intensified, with divergent views emerging on constituency allocations and individual nominations. Tagore is learnt to have conveyed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the selection process was handled.
Sources also indicated that Tagore had been advocating a larger role for the Congress in a potential post-election government, including cabinet representation. However, the leadership of the DMK has maintained its position of limiting the arrangement to seat-sharing. The alliance has been finalised with 28 constituencies allotted to the Congress along with one Rajya Sabha seat.
The timing of the resignation is seen as significant, coming when alliance partners have begun to intensify their campaign efforts. Party insiders suggested that the development reflects broader discontent among cadres, who have long argued that the Congress should secure a role in governance after decades on the sidelines in Tamil Nadu politics.
The episode adds a layer of complexity to an already competitive electoral landscape, with the DMK-led alliance facing challenges from the AIADMK-aligned front and actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which is making its electoral debut.
While Congress leaders have downplayed the impact of the resignation, the development underscores the delicate balance within coalition politics as parties negotiate both electoral arithmetic and power-sharing arrangements.