Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 28 (ANI): BJP National Spokesperson CR Kesavan on Saturday took a swipe at Congress, alleging 'deep divide' and 'total disarray' in Tamil Nadu after Congress MP Jothimani's lack of transparency in the selection of candidates for the 2026 Assembly elections.

Jothimani stated that decisions for the party's election ticket were made in a 'highly secretive manner' and that the welfare of the party had been compromised.

CR Keravan, in an X post, said that there is a pattern to Congress' ticket and seat allocation, leading to a 'lost credibility' among the public. He termed the DMK-Congress alliance a 'disaster model' for Tamil Nadu.

'Rahul Gandhi's Congress is a deeply divided house and is in total disarray in Tamil Nadu. Their Party MP from TN is now publicly attacking Congress leadership for having no transparency. There is a definite pattern to this. Rahul Gandhi's point person in the Bihar elections was gheraoed by Congress workers for allegedly selling tickets. This is why the Compromised Congress has lost credibility with people across the country. The opportunistic DMK -Congress alliance is in tatters, and the disaster model DMK Govt's misrule, which has been one of the worst regimes in the history of Tamil Nadu, will be categorically rejected by the people in the coming elections,' the BJP leader wrote.

Meanwhile, former State Congress president KV Thangabalu asked Jothimani to put forward her grievances with party leadership, instead of making statements in public.

Thangabalu told ANI, 'Jothimani is one of our important MPs. The Congress party has a very good mechanism to address the grievances. I appeal to all Congress members in the state that, whatever grievances they have, please address those to the appropriate forum. PCC president, AICC general secretary incharge Tamil Nadu, AICC president, AICC working committee, AICC disciplinary committee. That is the best way to find solutions.'

This comes after Jothimani said that it was heartbreaking to see a few individuals, who have not contributed to the party, now 'selling off' the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.

'There is absolutely no transparency in the Congress party's constituency selection. Our view that constituency selection should be done only after transparency and extensive discussion has not been accepted by the responsible leaders. Everything happened in a highly secretive manner. The welfare of the Congress party has been entirely compromised. It is heartbreaking to see a few individuals, who haven't even bothered to pluck a single feather from the decades-long hard work of genuine Congress party workers like us for the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, now selling it off,' Jothimani wrote on X.

Jothimani warned against the downfall of the party in Tamil Nadu if candidate selection continues with the same approach.

She wrote, 'One cannot remain silent in the face of this terrible situation without raising questions. The party is not just the responsible leaders, the state president, and the legislative party leader. The sentiments and labour of lakhs of workers are what make the party. We can discuss this in detail once the list is released. If candidate selection is also going to happen with this same selling approach, no one can save the Congress party in Tamil Nadu.'

Meanwhile, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has announced that its 'Rising Sun' symbol will contest in nearly 175 constituencies in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

So far, the DMK alliance has allotted seats to nine parties, including Congress (28), MDMK (4), IUML (2), MMK (2), KMDK (2), CPI (5), CPM (5), VCK (8), and DMDK (10). A total of 66 seats have been allocated to allies, with seven of them being contested under the DMK symbol.

With remaining allocations expected, the DMK will directly contest 168 seats, while allied candidates in seven seats will also contest under the Rising Sun symbol, making a total of 175 seats under the DMK symbol.

Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4. (ANI)