New Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram suggested Tuesday that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra “must contest” the bypoll for the Kanyakumari parliamentary seat in Tamil Nadu.
The seat has been vacant since incumbent H. Vasanthakumar died of Covid-19 this August.
The son of former Union minister P. Chidambaram, Karti represents Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga in the Lok Sabha and his family belongs to the state.
We need a bold move. Something which will fire up the imagination of the @INCIndia worker. @priyankagandhi must contest the Kanyaumari Parliamentary seat election which is likely to be announced shortly. @INCTamilNadu It will be an overwhelming victory for her/party/alliance
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) November 24, 2020
Tamil Nadu is also one of four states headed for assembly polls next year — the others are West Bengal, Assam and Kerala. The union territory of Puducherry also goes to the polls in 2021.
Karti’s suggestion came days after he joined the chorus that emerged from a section of the Congress seeking “introspection” within the party in light of its poor performance in the Bihar assembly elections this month.
In a tweet, the MP had said that it’s time for the party to “introspect, ideate, consult and act”.
It’s time we introspect, ideate, consult & act @INCIndia https://t.co/Rz4mtA6eu1
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) November 16, 2020
Also Read: Not just in Bihar, Congress has ‘pulled down’ allies in these other states too
Concerns about party
Chidambaram Senior has expressed concerns about the party as well, saying earlier this month that its performance in the Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka bypolls reflects that it “has no organisational presence on the ground or has been weakened considerably”.
In other criticism from within the party, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad blamed a “5-star culture” among party leaders for its performance in polls. “Elections are not fought from five-star hotels… We can’t win until we change this culture,” Azad said earlier this week.
Priyanka currently serves as general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, and is yet to contest any election. There have long been calls from within the party for a bigger role for Priyanka, who is often compared to her grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Also Read: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launches political career, but talk is all about Indira