PUDUCHERRY: Taking "moral responsibility" for the crushing defeat of Congress in the recent Assembly elections, V Vaithilingam has resigned as the president of the INC in Puducherry.
In his resignation letter to Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, Vaithilingam said he was stepping down in view of the party’s poor electoral performance.
The Congress contested the elections as part of the INDIA alliance and had officially entered into a seat-sharing arrangement only with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), agreeing to contest 16 constituencies: DMK 13 and VCK one. However, the party also fielded additional candidates in six other constituencies under the ‘Hand’ symbol, leading to criticism that alliance norms had been violated.
The move reportedly alienated alliance partners including the DMK, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.
The Congress contested a total of 22 constituencies but managed to secure victory in only one seat. Vaithilingam himself suffered a major setback in the Thattanchavady constituency, where he lost to Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and slipped to fourth place behind an independent candidate, forfeiting his security deposit.
The defeat triggered unrest within the party, with a section of Congress functionaries staging a protest outside the party’s state headquarters and demanding Vaithilingam’s removal from the post of Pradesh Congress Committee president.
Amid mounting pressure and internal dissent, Vaithilingam has now formally stepped down, accepting full responsibility for the party’s electoral debacle.
