Karti Chidambaram urges Priyanka Vadra to fight LS by-poll to enthuse cadre amid Cong woes

Amid the infighting within Congress, Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram on Tuesday urged party general Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest the by-election to the Kanniyakumari parliamentary constituency. While Congress' H Vasanthakumar defeated BJP's P Radhakrishnan by a huge margin in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the seat fell vacant owing to the former's untimely demise after getting infected with COVID-19. Though she is the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and a part of the Congress Working Committee, Sonia Gandhi's daughter is yet to contest a single election. 

While there was considerable speculation about Vadra contesting the 2019 General Election from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress party eventually fielded Ajay Rai as its candidate. According to Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, his suggestion was a "bold move" that can potentially fire up the imagination of party workers. He exuded confidence that Vadra shall secure a comfortable victory if she chooses to fight the Kanniyakumari by-election. 

Read: Karti Echoes Father Chidambaram's Call To Introspect On Congress' Bihar Loss; Backs Sibal

Read: Tariq Anwar Concurs With Ghulam Nabi Azad, Says 'entire Congress Responsible For Downfall'

Rumblings within Congress emerge

Though the Congress top brass managed to pacify 23 party leaders who raised serious concerns in August, the debacle in the recently concluded Bihar polls and by-elections in other states has again led to infighting. The Sivaganga MP's father P Chidambaram too raised concerns about Congress' recent performance especially the by-election results of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka in an interview to a Hindi daily. Observing that Congress contested more seats than its organisational strength in Bihar, he added that the party should have refused to fight in the 25 seats where BJP or its allies have been winning for nearly two decades. Chidambaram called for a comprehensive review of a downturn in Congress' electoral fortunes.  

Moreover, his party colleague Kapil Sibal contended that the people of the country "don't consider Congress to be an effective alternative". In further embarrassment for the party, former Jammu and Kashmir CM Ghulam Nabi Azad opined that a 5-star culture had taken root in Congress. While exonerating Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for Congress' failures, he noted that the party is at its lowest in the last 72 years. He said that it was imperative for Congress to conduct election from the block to the national level, provide a programme to the party and ensure accountability to make it a viable national alternative. 

Read: Azad Hatching Conspiracy To Break Congress: Haryana Congress Leader Bishnoi