'Was told if Rahul Gandhi joined Vijay, 180-190 seats can be won': AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar

Chennai: AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, on Tuesday admitted that the Congress party leadership's decision to stick with the DMK alliance went against strong grassroots sentiment favouring the TVK.

"The local leaders, the grassroots level leaders, they were suggesting, if Rahul Gandhi, who has a large acceptance in Tamil Nadu, joins the campaign with Vijay, it will create a big impact and we can sweep the Tamil Nadu polls, and get somewhere around 180-190 seats," Chodankar told PTI Videos.

According to him, because of the compulsion of the INDIA bloc and DMK being a long-time ally -- the most trusted allies of Congress -- the leadership decided to continue with DMK alliance, knowing very well that TVK is going to do a remarkably good job.

Speaking on the victory of the TVK, Chodankar stated that a wave in favour of the new party had swept the state as youngsters and women voted decisively for a change, leading to a mandate that even saw the incumbent chief minister losing his seat.

Addressing the fallout of this decision, Chodankar admitted that many party workers were left angry, with some moving toward or even contesting for the TVK.

"Our cadres got angry, our voters also, and then they moved towards the TVK," he added.

However, he dismissed claims that the decision was influenced by a few individuals for personal interest, asserting that the party took a concise decision after careful consideration.

On the prospect of post-poll alliances, he stated that he has updated Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on the present political situation.

Emphasising that the party would respect the people's mandate rather than trying to manipulate it, Chodankar said the AICC leadership would ultimately take a call that serves the best interests of Tamil Nadu's culture and ideology.

"The mandate of the people is for a change. So, we also have to bow before the mandate that is given by the people of Tamil Nadu. We don't want to, you know, manipulate the mandate and go against the mandate of the people."