CHENNAI: Congress Rajya Sabha candidate Praveen Chakravarty on Friday acknowledged that it was a mistake to describe the CPI and CPM as part of a TVK-led "Tamil Nadu Social Justice Progressive Alliance", hours after the two Left parties publicly objected to the claim and asserted that they were not part of any such alliance.
The clarification came after Chakravarty visited the offices of the CPI and CPM and met leaders of the two parties following the filing of his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha by-election. CPI state secretary M Veerapandian later told reporters that Chakravarty had accepted that it was erroneous to state in his social media post that the CPI and CPM were constituents of a TVK-led alliance.
The controversy arose from a post by Chakravarty on X on Thursday night in which he said he regarded it as a matter of pride and responsibility to have been chosen as the first Rajya Sabha candidate of the TVK-led alliance. He thanked the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and the Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay for their confidence in him and said he would be a courageous, loyal and honest voice for the people of Tamil Nadu in Parliament if elected.
Responding to the post, CPM State secretary P. Shanmugam described the reference to the CPM as an act of "overzealousness".
"No one has approached or consulted us either regarding the formation of an alliance or seeking support for this candidate," he said in a post on X.
In a separate statement, Veerapandian said the CPI was unaware of the existence of a "Tamil Nadu Social Justice Progressive Alliance" and reiterated that its support to the TVK government after the Assembly election was extended to prevent the possibility of Governor's rule or an indirect BJP-backed administration in the State.