Congress leaders oppose ‘outsider’ nominee in Erode (East)

Functionaries of the district Congress on Friday opposed the selection of Gopinath Palaniyappan as the party’s candidate for the Erode (East) Assembly constituency and demanded that he be replaced.

Addressing reporters, Makkal G. Rajan, former president of the Erode South District Congress Committee, said that if the candidate was not changed, several party functionaries would contest independently, leading to a split in votes. He said the Congress had returned to winning ways in the constituency after 47 years when E. Thirumahan Everaa won in 2021. Following his demise, E.V.K.S. Elangovan secured victory in the 2023 by-election. Mr. Rajan alleged that the DMK later took over the constituency in the 2024 bypoll after assuring that it would be returned to the Congress.

Mr. Rajan said communities and religious groups that play a decisive role in the constituency had sought an opportunity for “sons of the soil”. Though five candidates were shortlisted after interviews by the All India leadership, none of them was chosen. “When we expected one among the five to be nominated, announcing Mr. Palaniyappan, who was not in the list, is unacceptable,” he said.

He questioned the denial of opportunities to local leaders and alleged lack of transparency in the selection process. Appointing a candidate from another district amounted to deliberate neglect, he said. Urging the leadership, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, to review the decision, he warned that protests would continue if the nominee was not replaced.