Published Jun 27, 2026 | 6:16 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 27, 2026 | 11:26 PM
K Selvaperunthagai (L) and B Manickam Tagore.
Synopsis: The Congress high command removed K Selvaperunthagai as TNCC president a day after he publicly criticised Chief Minister Vijay, triggering fresh questions over the timing of the decision. Party insiders, however, claim the move had been planned earlier amid internal dissent, leadership pressure and months of lobbying in Delhi.
A day after openly criticising Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, the Congress high command removed Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai from the position.
The AICC on Saturday, 27 June, announced that Virudhunagar MP B Manickam Tagore has been appointed as the new president of the state Congress Committee.
According to top Congress sources, Tagore, who had been lobbying for the post for a long time, secured the position with the backing of senior Congress leader KC Venugopal and Rahul Gandhi.
Selvaperunthagai said he had already submitted his resignation letter to the party high command earlier, and that he was informed only today (Saturday) that his resignation has been formally accepted.
He had been the Congress state unit president since February 2024.
When contacted, sources close to Selvaperunthagai said, “He had submitted his resignation nearly two months ago. In fact, during the 2026 Assembly election period itself, he had indicated that he intended to step down after the election. Even recently, he repeated the same position. What has happened now is in line with what he had already said.”
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However, the timing of the announcement has raised fresh political questions.
On Friday, 26 June, Selvaperunthagai had openly criticised Chief Minister Vijay while speaking to the media.
Commenting on Vijay’s remarks in the Assembly, Selvaperunthagai said, “The chief minister should conduct himself with dignity inside the Assembly. What he said about former Chief Minister MK Stalin is strongly condemnable. The Assembly is not a shooting location.”
A day later, the Congress high command announced that he was being relieved from the post, triggering political speculation over whether the timing was merely coincidental.
For a long time after the Congress aligned with Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, Selvaperunthagai had maintained a relatively smooth relationship with the chief minister.
However, according to sources close to him, his criticism of Vijay did not come out of nowhere.
“He was upset because, despite being the leader of an alliance party, he felt he was not being given proper respect,” a source familiar with the matter said.
“Selvaperunthagai had personally met Vijay and invited him to his daughter’s wedding. But Vijay neither attended the wedding nor even sent a congratulatory message. It caused considerable anger, and the criticism that came later was partly a reflection of that frustration,” the source said.
There were repeated reports that Selvaperunthagai, being a Dalit leader, had been facing resistance from a section of senior party leadership.
“Because he is a Dalit leader, several senior leaders had been sidelining him. Since 2024, multiple complaints against him have been repeatedly sent to Delhi,” the source said.
The same source claimed that while leaders like Karur MP S Jothimani and Tagore may publicly appear to differ on state-level political issues, they often align when it comes to internal Delhi politics.
The source further alleged that Rajya Sabha MP Praveen Chakravarty and several others within the state Congress leadership had also been politically opposed to Selvaperunthagai.
Another senior Congress functionary at the state level said the decision to replace Selvaperunthagai had actually been taken earlier.
“The decision to replace him had already been made. But because of his daughter’s wedding, the announcement was delayed until now,” the leader said.
The same source claimed that even though Selvaperunthagai was initially considered to be the choice of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, dissatisfaction had been growing within the party leadership over Congress’s performance in the 2026 Assembly election. Internal complaints had piled up over the last year, and Rahul Gandhi was disappointed with Selvaperunthagai’s functioning.
Party insiders said Selvaperunthagai’s perceived closeness to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam may have played a role in the decision to replace him. Sources said all these factors eventually helped Tagore.
Chief Minister Vijay did not publicly wish Selvaperunthagai on the occasion of his daughter’s wedding, but he was quick to congratulate Tagore within minutes of his appointment as the TPCC chief.
Even before the Assembly elections, Tagore had been among the strongest voices within the Congress advocating for an alliance with the TVK. He expressed his opinion on social media, supporting such a coalition. He reportedly even pushed the national leadership to seriously consider an alliance with Vijay.
Against this backdrop, while senior leaders like Karti Chidambaram and S Jothimani were also seen as contenders to the top Congress post in Tamil Nadu, questions are being raised over whether Tagore’s selection signals Congress choosing a leadership favourable to the TVK.
When queried about the development, Congress sources said it was Venugopal’s choice. They added that other contenders did not enjoy a similar backing to Tagore.
Congress insiders also pointed out that Kharge had played a major role in appointing Selvaperunthagai as Tamil Nadu Congress chief. However, even before the 2026 Assembly elections, dissatisfaction with Selvaperunthagai had been growing within Gandhi’s camp.
With the party failing to achieve expected electoral results, Selvaperunthagai’s removal appears to indicate that Gandhi’s faction had a stronger say than the camp led by Kharge.
“This is essentially a reward for those who advised Congress to align with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam before the elections. That pattern begins with Praveen Chakravarthy and now extends to Manickam Tagore,” journalist and political observer Raja Sangeethan said.
Sangeethan also linked Tagore’s appointment to Vijay’s speeches during the election campaign.
Throughout the Assembly election campaign, Vijay repeatedly argued that the real Congress was supportive of TVK, and only a few leaders were opposing the alliance. At the time, even Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had countered by saying, “We are with the DMK alliance.”
“The previous state leadership had become a problem for TVK. Through Manickam Tagore’s appointment, the Congress high command has now removed that obstacle,” Sangeethan argued.
“Selvaperunthagai had repeatedly spoken about resigning. More importantly, it was widely understood that the moment Congress aligned with TVK, he would be replaced. What has happened now was always an expected outcome,” he added.
