Congress MP Manickam Tagore dismissed reports of his resignation as chairman of the party's Tamil Nadu election management and coordination committee on Thursday.
Responding to queries about the reports, Tagore told ANI, “Who said that I resigned?”
The statement was made amid speculation of internal disagreements within the party regarding candidate selection for 28 seats in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections.
In the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), the DMK is contesting 164 of the 234 state constituencies, while 70 seats are allocated to alliance partners including the Congress Party with 28 seats, the Communist Party of India (CPI) with 5 seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) with 5 seats, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) with 8 seats, and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) with 4 seats. Other smaller parties in the alliance include the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) with 10 seats and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) with 2 seats, along with several other regional parties.
Tamil Nadu is scheduled to hold elections in a single phase on April 23, with counting on May 4. The contest is principally between the DMK-led SPA, which comprises Congress, DMDK, and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the AIADMK, allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s party, the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TVK), aims to make the election a three-way contest.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, the DMK secured 133 seats. Congress won 18, PMK five, VCK four, and other parties eight seats. Collectively, the SPA won 159 seats. The NDA won 75 seats, with the AIADMK emerging as the largest party in the alliance with 66 seats.