Senthil, who quit IAS in Karnataka over CAA, to join Congress in Chennai tomorrow

Bengaluru: The Congress has roped in former Karnataka IAS officer S Sasikanth Senthil ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. The 41-year old former bureaucrat, who quit IAS as Deputy Commissioner in Karnataka in September last year, will join the Congress in Chennai on Monday.

"Senthil is sick of the strife among communities, violence over religious issues, and the BJP's policies. He wants to join efforts to unify the country. He has already discussed his ideas with Rahul Gandhi. The party will make use of him at the national level,"AICC in charge of Tamil Nadu affairs Dinesh Gundu Rao told ET.

Senthil, who served for 10 years in the IAS in Karnataka, will join the party in the presence of Rao and state Congress president KS Alagiri. The 41-year old former bureaucrat tweeted: “I would like to inform all that I have decided to join the Congress party in my effort to continue the fight. I have been an activist trying to be a voice for the less privileged all through my life, wherever I was and would continue the same until my last breath.”


Senthil quit the IAS in Karnataka in September last year amid protests over amendments to the citizenship law.

His decision to take a political plunge comes when Tamil Nadu is gearing up for the Assembly elections next year, and political activities are picking up. There is also a sense of nervousness in both AIADMK and DMK as they will be facing polls without their cult figures J Jayalalitha and M Karunanidhi being around.