The DMK could not be blamed for allotting only 25 Assembly seats to the Congress, said senior leader of the national party P. Chidambaram in Sivaganga on Sunday.
Addressing a meeting of party workers at Keezhaseevalpatti in Tirupathur Assembly Constituency, he said that in 2011, the Congress was given 63 seats, and it won five of them. In the subsequent election (2016), the party got 41 seats and emerged victorious in eight seats.
Hence, the party could not find fault with or blame the DMK for giving 25 seats now. The need of the hour was, Mr. Chidambaram said, the party should work hard and win all the 25 seats. This would give the much-needed fillip and rejuvenation for the party.
To achieve this goal, the party had to have a time-bound plan. The agenda was clear: to keep the AIADMK away from power and to ensure that the BJP did not win even a single seat. By doing so, the DMK-Congress combine could restore their lost glory and legacy in Tamil Nadu, he said.
The BJP, he said, was a “poisonous plant” and should not be allowed to grow in Tamil Nadu. The Congress, with its rich tradition as a national party, would strive to bring back the sheen to the Tamils and the Dravidian culture by a landslide victory, the Congress leader said.
The AIADMK, in order to retain power, had allowed the BJP into Tamil Nadu, he charged. Both Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his deputy O. Panneerselvam would have to pay the price for committing such a blunder, he said, and appealed to the party workers to campaign vigorously.
Mr. Chidambaram said that he would start campaigning against the BJP candidates across the State soon.
