Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has said that his party is facing difficulties at the moment, but is ready for a long battle against the Narendra Modi model of politics. Congress leader said, “Like any other political party, Congress also faces ups and downs. I agree that we have faced some setbacks.” Chidambaram pointed out that all that the Congress party needs to do right now is consolidate its position in a few states. “I think it is doable if we all sit together in the party, have elected bodies and put our heads together,” he added. Chidambarm also said that it is a fact that 99 per cent of the Congress worker want Rahul Gandhi to be the party president.
Speaking at thr India Today South 2021 of Friday in Chennai, he agreed that the Congress has been treading on a rough patch ever since the 2019 Lok Sabha debacle. “Go back to 2018-19, in five state elections the Congress won. People have very short memories. We won in Goa, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,” he said.“Those elections were stolen from us by the BJP. They are not the elected governments there. They are governments which were stolen from the Congress party with the help of governors,” he added. Speaking about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chidambaram said, “The BJP is in North India in about seven states, in seven other states the BJP is not in power. Therefore, it is not as if the BJP has sway over North India. On Prime Minister Narendra Modi, P Chidambaram said unlike other BJP leaders, he is “cut from a different cloth”.“PM Modi controls the party, controls the government and is extremely clever in managing a direction. But I don’t think he is undefeatable],” Chidambaram said.“He is likely to be defeated in many elections.”he said.
In the Conclave, DMK leader and MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said had the Congress been a liability for the assembly elections, the DMK would not have continued the alliance with the party. In Tamil Nadu, I think Congress adds a lot of value so it is not that we considered them a liability as you would like to call it. They [Congress] enhanced the victory opportunity for the alliance," Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said. Speaking on dynasty politics which the Congress and the DMK have been attacked for time after time by their opponents, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said the dynasty cannot be imposed on people of the country. "It is finally the people who have to decide if they want us. You can't impose a dynasty on them [the people]. People choose if they want you or not," Kanimozhi said.
