Karti Chidambaram pans organizational changes in TN Congress, flags lack of accountability

In another sign of dissent within the party, Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram on Saturday disapproved of the organizational changes in Congress' Tamil Nadu unit.

Earlier in the day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi appointed 32 vice presidents, 57 general secretaries, a treasurer, 104 secretaries, 61 executive committee members, 32 DCC presidents, 39 Pradesh election committee members, 19 election co-ordination committee members, 38 election propaganda committee members, 31 publicity committee members, 24 manifesto committee members, 16 media coordination committee members and 6 election team members. Maintaining that these jumbo committees serve no purpose, he contended that none of the members will have any authority which will lead to a lack of accountability.

Incidentally, the Congress MP has been included in the Executive Committee, Pradesh Election Committee, Election Coordination Committee and Manifesto Committee. These appointments come ahead of the TN Assembly polls due in April-May 2021. Congress is an alliance partner of DMK which is perceived as the principal challenger to the ruling AIADMK in the state. 

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Dissent within the Congress party

The Congress MP's dissent assumes significance as his father P Chidambaram had openly expressed concerns about the party's functioning after the loss in the Bihar Assembly election. In a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi on August, 23 senior party leaders observed that the uncertainly over the leadership and the drift in the party have weakened Congress and demoralized the workers. The letter reportedly mentioned many suggestions such as the need for a full-time leadership available at the national and state headquarters, conducting elections at all levels including the Congress Working Committee and state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party's revival.

Despite the high-octane drama at the CWC meeting, it was decided that the Rae Bareli MP will continue as the interim president at least until the next AICC session is convened. Finally, Gandhi met some of the dissenters for the first time on December 19. Speaking to the media, former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan stated that a Chintan Shibir (brainstorming session) shall take place in Pachmarhi or Shimla soon. 

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