TN polls: Cong, BJP drag their feet in releasing candidate lists, make themselves a butt of ridicule

Even as the deadline for filing nominations for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections draws to a close on Monday, with only a three-day window remaining, both the Congress and the BJP, part of the DMK and the AIADMK-led NDA fronts, respectively, are dragging their feet in releasing their candidate lists.

The national parties have made themselves a butt of ridicule, as their lack of alacrity stands in stark contrast to the ruling DMK and the principal opposition AIADMK, as well as their other allies, who have released their candidate lists and taken to the streets for campaigning.

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“In a couple of days, we will decide the candidates and announce them,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the BJP’s in charge for the Tamil Nadu election, told the media the other day, expressing confidence after holding discussions with local party leaders on potential nominees and releasing a ‘chargesheet’ listing corruption charges against the DMK government of MK Stalin. There is heavy jostling for tickets, and heartburn within the party over the seats earmarked for it, with some leaders, like former state president K Annamalai, sulking at being left in the cold.

On the other hand, the Congress is awaiting the imprimatur of its national leadership. The list of probable candidates has been scrutinised by a panel comprising TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai and AICC in charge, Girish Chodankar and submitted to the high command. “Rahul is engaged in campaigning for the Kerala assembly election, and hence it is taking time. We will release the list soon,” Selvaperunthagai told the media. Currently, party leaders are camping in the national capital.

The Congress has secured 28 seats from the DMK after much wrangling, while the BJP has secured 27 from the AIADMK, plus 6 seats from two allies to contest on the saffron party’s Lotus symbol. It has been nearly a week since both national parties were allotted the constituencies they are contesting, but they have yet to release their candidate lists. The inordinate delay on the part of the Congress has already led the INDIA bloc in nearby Puducherry into a quandary.

Without waiting for their national allies, both Dravidian majors have shifted into campaign mode. DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin launched the party’s campaign from his native Tiruvarur on Tuesday at a massive rally. Days ahead of this, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, accompanied by the BJP’s prospective candidate and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, had commenced his campaign with a show of strength from the Mylapore constituency in Chennai on March 26, shortly after releasing the second list of candidates as well as the constituencies allotted to the allies.

However, even before the candidate list has been announced, BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran, Tamilisai Soundararajan, and Union Minister L Murugan have begun their campaigns in Sattur, Mylapore and Avinashi, respectively. Meanwhile, the Congress is engaged in discussions with the CPI(M) for a seat swap for Padmanabapuram instead of Vilavancode in Kanniyakumari district.