JOIN USChidambaram's second stint in Rajya Sabha to be from Tamil Nadu?
With his Rajya Sabha term from Maharashtra coming to an end in July, former union minister P Chidambaram is likely to enter the House of Elders in his second stint from his home state of Tamil Nadu. He has emerged as the frontrunner in the Congress for the lone seat allotted by senior alliance partner Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
The biennial elections for six seats from Tamil Nadu will be held on June 10 – the DMK and AIADMK can win four and two seats respectively without a contest. After allotting one to Congress as part of the agreement reached during the 2021 assembly polls, the DMK announced candidates for three seats — ‘Thanjai’ S Kalyanasundaram, K R N Rajeshkumar, and R Girirajan.
Principal opposition AIADMK is still discussing candidates for the two seats it can win on its own. Sources told DH that party leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami will get one seat each which they will recommend for their followers.
After the biennial elections, DMK’s strength will remain at 10, while AIADMK’s number will reduce to four. MDMK, TMC, and PMK have one seat each, while one member will represent Congress. Tamil Nadu sends 18 members to the Rajya Sabha.
Congress will have an RS member from Tamil Nadu after a gap of six years following the retirement of E M Sudarsana Natchiappan, bête noire of Chidambaram, in 2016. While Chidambaram is the frontrunner for the RS seat from Tamil Nadu, his one-time protégé and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K S Alagiri has also thrown his hat in the ring.
“Chidambaram’s RS term from Maharashtra ends in July this year. Obviously, he has asked to be renominated, this time from his home state as there is a vacancy here. Apart from him, there are four other contenders including Alagiri, and Pravin Chakravarthy, Chairman of AICC Data Analytics Department, for the seat,” a senior TNCC leader told DH.
DH has learnt that Alagiri is also making a strong case for his nomination by pointing out that he opted out of the 2019 Lok Sabha contest on his own after being appointed as the TNCC chief.
“Alagiri feels he should be considered for the RS seat. He is likely to be relieved from his post very soon, and he wants to be in New Delhi as an acknowledgment of his services to the party, which put up an impressive performance in the 2019 and 2021 elections in an alliance with DMK,” another senior leader said.
Two leaders told DH that preference should be given to local leaders. However, they added that Chidambaram might make the cut if the High Command feels his presence is needed in the House of Elders to counter BJP’s narrative especially ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
A section in the TNCC is opposing Chidambaram’s nomination as his son Karti is already a Lok Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga.