Congress MP Karti Chidambaram described the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly election as a “candidate-agnostic” contest where voters overwhelmingly backed Chief Minister Joseph Vijay and the whistle symbol without paying attention to individual constituency candidates, calling the trend “not very healthy for a parliamentary democracy.”
Speaking to reporters during a press meet recently, Karti Chidambaram said the election had largely revolved around Vijay’s image and the public’s desire for political change.
“In this election, it has been what we can call a ‘candidate-agnostic’ election – that is, people voted for the whistle symbol and for Vijay without looking at who the candidate was in their constituency,” he said.
Comparing the trend to Arvind Kejriwal’s first electoral victory in Delhi, he said voters in such elections often do not even know the names of local candidates.
“Such elections have happened earlier too; in Delhi, when Kejriwal first won, people said ‘We voted for Kejriwal,’ and often did not even know the name of the local candidate. In one sense, this is not very healthy for a parliamentary democracy,” he said.
However, Karti Chidambaram said the election reflected an overwhelming public demand for change, with Vijay emerging as the face of that sentiment.
“But in this election there was an overwhelming sentiment for change, and the face of that change was Vijay and the symbol of that change was the whistle; that is all, people voted for that, not for the individual candidates,” he said.
He added that many newly elected legislators would now have to properly introduce themselves and build stronger links with their constituencies.
“Hereafter only, many of these elected representatives must go to their constituencies and introduce themselves properly to the people,” he said.
Congress “Definitely” To Join Cabinet
Karti Chidambaram also confirmed that the Congress party would be part of the Tamil Nadu ministry during the next cabinet expansion, though he said the final decision on the number of ministers and portfolios rested entirely with Vijay.
“In the next cabinet, the Congress party will definitely participate in the ministry. How many ministers, which departments they will hold – all that has to be decided only by the Chief Minister,” he said.
“Need To Give Government Time”
The Congress MP urged critics and observers to give the newly formed government time before judging its performance, noting that the administration had been in office for barely a week.
“This government has just come into being; it has not even been a week since they took oath, and they have only now won the vote of confidence. The government is just settling in,” he said.
He said the administration was currently continuing pre-existing welfare programmes, including the ₹1000 assistance scheme, while new policy measures and the first Budget were still being prepared.
“Government Is A Continuum”
Karti Chidambaram further argued that governments function as a continuum irrespective of political change, with each administration building upon the work of its predecessor.
“When we say ‘government,’ there is never a break in government; whether it is the Government of India or the Government of Tamil Nadu, it is a continuum – it keeps running continuously. Only the people in office change; the government itself does not change,” he said.
Drawing a comparison with the BJP-led Union government and previous UPA administrations, he said every government continues older schemes while adding its own initiatives.
“வேட்பாளர்கள் யார் என்றே தெரியாமல் த.வெ.க-விற்கு மக்கள் வாக்களித்துள்ளார்கள்.. இது ஜனநாயகத்திற்கு ஆரோக்கியமானது அல்ல..” – எம்.பி. கார்த்தி சிதம்பரம் பேட்டி#Congress | #TVK | #TNElection | #PolimerNews pic.twitter.com/bK0ZX6kkuF
— Polimer News (@polimernews) May 16, 2026
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