CHENNAI: Discontent has surfaced among woman cadres of the Congress in Tamil Nadu following the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) decision to appoint only four women as District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents, despite appointing 71 district presidents across the state ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
AICC on Sunday announced the appointment of 71 DCC presidents for Tamil Nadu, of whom 63 are new faces, while eight incumbents were retained. However, only four of the newly appointed district presidents are women, a move that has drawn criticism from within the party’s women’s wing.
Several woman leaders expressed disappointment, pointing out the apparent contradiction between the party’s public advocacy for women’s reservation and the limited representation provided in internal organisational posts.
A senior woman cadre of the Congress told TNIE, on condition of anonymity, that while the party has been demanding implementation of women’s reservation in Parliament and state assemblies, it should also ensure adequate representation for women within the party structure.
She recalled that the party’s Nav Sankalp meeting at Udaipur in May 2022 had resolved to increase representation for women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and minorities in organisational positions and during polls (in the form of giving more electoral tickets to them). “Despite that resolution, only four women were given district president posts, even though several eligible candidates had applied and actively worked for these positions,” she said.
Echoing similar concerns, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) women’s wing president Hazeena Syed told TNIE that the party has 77 district units in the state and that at least one-third of the DCC president posts should be allotted to women. “To ensure 33% representation, at least 20 district president posts should have gone to women. The woman cadres are deeply disappointed after seeing the list. We will take up this issue with the AICC,” she said.
Meanwhile, the TNCC state executive committee met at Sathyamurthy Bhavan in Chennai on Tuesday under the leadership of TN Congress in-charge Girish Chodankar. During the meeting, the party decided to constitute district-level screening committees to identify potential candidates for the 2026 assembly elections.
According to party sources, the screening committees will assess constituencies based on factors such as organisational strength, performance of sitting MLAs, and local political dynamics. The party also plans to identify favourable assembly constituencies across the state as part of its preparatory exercise for the upcoming polls.