Karur parliamentary constituency candidate and national secretary of Mahila Congress S Jothimani denied facing any opposition from party workers and said that the district unit was actively supporting her in the election work.
Ever since Jothimani got a ticket to contest from the Karur constituency, local party cadre refused to accept her candidature and demanded the high command to change the nominee, citing that she was not into the local politics of Karur. This also found an echo in the district committee meeting on Thursday, which was attended by local functionaries and Jothimani.
A Vijay Antony, president of Karur district trader cell wing of the Congress, told Express that during the meeting all the cadre demanded the withdrawal of Jothimani’s candidature and expressed displeasure over the party’s choice, as she was not popular among the local cadre. She had not even maintained good contact with the district representatives and was defeated in the 2011 Assembly election by a massive margin. All these factors prove that there was no prospects for a candidate with such a bad profile, he added.
Speaking to Express, Jothimani claimed that she was contesting as a candidate for Karur constituency, only with the support of the local party members. She rejected reports of any tussle in the district committee meeting and the cadre had extended their support for her in this election, she added.
Meanwhile, The Congress candidate for Kanyakumari Parliamentary constituency Vasanthakumar was accorded a rousing welcome at Kaliyakkavilai on the inter-state border in the district on Friday.
But a group of Congress functionaries from the district, who had sought ticket to contest from Kanyakumari constituency in the elections, skipped the welcome event.
But, what drew the attention of many was a flex banner put up at the tower junction in the heart of the town without any individual’s name.
But, at the bottom it was mentioned ‘Affected Kanyakumari District Congress cadre’. This created a ruckus among the Congress cadre.