The Congress is facing significant internal pushback in Tamil Nadu over the candidacy of Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram for the coming Lok Sabha elections. A section of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee’s (TNCC) Sivaganga unit, including former Union Minister E M Sudarsana Natchiappan and senior leader K R Ramasami, have endorsed a resolution appealing to the Congress high command not to give the ticket to Karti this time from Sivaganga.

The resolution against Karti, former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s son, was passed at a meeting on February 3 attended by Natchiappan and others from the Sivaganga unit. Leaders close to the MP expected it as Natchiappan opposed Karti’s candidature in 2019 before changing his mind and backing the campaign. Last month, the TNCC sent a show-cause notice to Karti for saying that no Congress leader, including Rahul Gandhi, could match Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s propaganda skills, a statement that ruffled feathers in the party. Karti made the remarks in an interview to Tamil news channel Thanthi TV, with his implicit critique of the Congress leadership and inadvertent praise of Modi’s capabilities drawing the ire of the party’s disciplinary committee.

“The TNCC stock and barrel — leaders and the cadre, including party men in Sivaganga — feels that Karti should not get tickets this time for his criticism of Rahul and the Congress leadership. A Congressman cannot accept what he said,” said a TNCC leader. This sentiment reflects broader discontent with the MP’s outspokenness and its perceived negative impact on the party’s image and unity.

Congress insiders said Natchiappan’s initiative illustrates a concerted effort by a faction within the party to push the leadership to reconsider Karti’s nomination despite his significant victory margin in the previous Lok Sabha elections against the BJP’s H Raja.

Despite this internal opposition, some top party leaders said the seat had been “reserved” for Karti. “There was opposition in the past, too, but ultimately overridden by the party’s high command due to the enduring influence of the Chidambaram family within the Congress hierarchy. This time also Chidambaram is expected to leverage his clout to secure his son’s political future, potentially with the backing of senior leaders such as Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, even if Rahul refuses to favour Karti,” a senior TNCC leader told The Indian Express.

Sources said the internal dispute was also complicated because of Natchiappan’s ambition of contesting from Sivaganga. “Everyone knows that Rahul Gandhi is not very happy with Karti despite his respect for Chidambaram. Natchiappan is exploiting this scenario to his advantage,” said a leader.

Adding to the complexity is the stand of the Congress’s ally DMK, which is said to have expressed reservations about Karti due to his controversial remarks.

Karti and Natchiappan were not available for comments.