In an effort to bolster the prospects of Congress in Tamil Nadu and to strengthen its seat-sharing negotiations for a hard bargaining with the ruling DMK, heading the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi as well as AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge are slated to launch the party’s poll campaign in January next for the 2026 assembly election.
The trio will address public rallies and state-level meetings of Congress Village Committee members, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai said in a post on ‘X’. The public rallies would be held either in Trichy, in the Delta region or at Chengalpattu or Kancheepuram, he added. The TNCC chief has also constituted various committees, comprising senior party leaders and former Union Ministers KV Thangkabalu and Su Thirunavukkarasar, to coordinate the conduct of the programmes.
With Rahul and Priyanka continuing to have an appeal in Tamil Nadu, the party continues to bank on their charisma. Besides galvanising the party organisation and enhancing the bargaining capacity of the Congress with the DMK, the visit of the three leaders would put an end to the ambivalence in certain sections of the party which is inclined to have a tie-up with the fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of film star Vijay, who’s bait on sharing power with the allies has a traction. Congress Professionals Wing leader Praveen Chakravarthy, who is said to have the ears of Rahul Gandhi, meeting Vijay recently has renewed such a speculation with big brother DMK reportedly getting annoyed. Chakravarthy’s meeting with Vijay took place a day after the AICC constituted five-member committee for seat sharing talks made a courtesy call on DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin.
According to Selvaperunthagai, Priyanka Gandhi would participate in a women’s rally and a separate committee consisting of party MPs Jothimani and Sudha Ramakrishnan, and former MLA Rani Venkatesan, Haseena Syed MLA and Tharabhai Cuthbert.
With the DMK keen on contesting more seats than in 21 and its allies, including the VCK of Thol Thirumavalavan and Left Parties, expected to demand their pound of flesh, the seat sharing negotiations might not be a smooth affair.