Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Congress, which won all nine seats it contested in the general elections with INDIA ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), is now attempting to strengthen itself from the grassroots as it sets its eyes on what it can achieve independently in the 2026 state elections.
At the party’s general body meeting held Tuesday in Chennai, K. Selvaperunthagai, appointed the state Congress chief in February 2024, said the party should strengthen itself and could not depend on alliance partners to win in the state.
The new Congress chief, party sources say, mooted the idea of contesting the next rural local body polls in the state independently to assess the party’s strength or demanding enough representation from its ally DMK at the general body meeting, inviting different opinions from party functionaries.
According to party sources, senior leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan, who was at the meeting, said that the Tamil Nadu Congress, jointly with its ally, should work to defeat the common enemy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We have won all the seats only because of the DMK. If we decide to contest on our own, we’ll lose on our own. When we contested — on our work — we lost the deposits. It’s not wrong for one to desire, but it shouldn’t be greed. Now, our aim should be to defeat the common enemy,” he said.
However, Sriperumbudur MLA Selvaperunthagai has been on a mission to restore the “Kamaraj and Congress rule” era in Tamil Nadu since the 19 April conclusion of the Lok Sabha polls in the state, after which he and other state Congress leaders embarked on a tour to connect with district and booth-level party workers, address their concerns and rejuvenate them.
K. Kamaraj served as Tamil Nadu’s chief minister (CM) for three consecutive terms from 1954 to 1963, when he resigned to assume the presidency of the All India Congress Committee, and the DMK’s C.N. Annadurai became the CM in the next elections in 1967.
Despite governing the state for two decades post-Independence, the Congress has not had a chief minister in Tamil Nadu since 1967. Since 1967, the Congress has been forging alliances with one of the two Dravidian parties in the state — the DMK or the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
The party’s partnership with the DMK dates back to the 2004 general elections, but the number of seats it contested in the state elections fell in 2021 compared to 2016. The Congress, in 2016, contested 41 of 234 seats and won eight and then, in 2021, contested only 25 seats but won 18.
The Congress had been expecting more seats in this Lok Sabha election but had to settle for nine of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry. The party’s vote share in Tamil Nadu in this general election dropped to 10.7 percent from 12.7 percent in the 2019 general election, though it contested nine seats in 2019 as well and lost one.
Speaking to ThePrint a week before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results, Selvaperunthagai had said, “From 1937 to 1967, we (Congress) ruled Tamil Nadu. Then we brought in a school education system, a power project, and hospitals. Everything was brought by Kamaraj.”
Kamaraj’s government is often credited for a revamp of the education system — Tamil Nadu was the first to introduce the midday meal scheme in schools in 1956 during his tenure.
Lakshmi Ramachandran, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, told ThePrint before the results: “He (Selvaperunthagai) has been meeting the party’s district chiefs and assessing their performance. This is the right time. These (Lok Sabha) elections are over, but we have to prepare for the 2026 (state) elections. We have the right people for it.”
Selvaparunthagai, in his outreach to party workers, has covered 10 of the 38 districts — Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Tirupathur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Tirupur, and Coimbatore, said Nabil Ahamed, vice-president in the Tamil Nadu Congress’s research department. The schedule of the next lap will likely be announced in July.
“We are strengthening the party organisation, and we already have a base. We will strengthen it, which will help increase the vote bank. That will help our alliance partner as well,” Selvaperunthagai further told ThePrint.
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Micro-level management, bringing in fresh blood
Ranging from cadres’ dissatisfaction to leadership and inactive functionaries, the Congress has multiple issues on the ground, said party functionaries.
“The president is meeting with the booth-level cadres and whatever they are saying, we are taking notes. The next course of action will be decided after the tour,” Ahamed said, adding that the party would revamp its district leadership and bring in new faces, if necessary.
“Leaders who have been in the post for over 10 years will be promoted to state leadership to bring in new faces. Youngsters will be able to do more proactive engagements with the public,” he said.
According to him, the party’s war room and digital team will also work closely with the leadership to ensure the party’s activities and messages reach the masses.
“We are making use of technology and are getting a good response. Many youngsters are engaging with us on social media platforms. We are discussing ways to bring them into the party properly,” Nabil said.
Meanwhile, expressing confidence in the party’s chances, Ramachandran sais, “I am extremely positive. One of the Dravidian parties — AIADMK — is a dwindling force. And there is space for a political party like ours, led by Rahul ji (Rahul Gandhi) in Delhi. Rahul ji is loved by the people of Tamil Nadu, cutting across party lines.”
She added that the party has to utilise the support and admiration and convert it into electoral victory. “I am glad that he (Selvaperunthagai) has started now, right after the Lok Sabha elections. So, there is time.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
