New Delhi and Chennai, September 08: Rahul Gandhi will test the waters in Tamil Nadu from Tuesday and try to recapture the lost base of the Congress in the southern state.
His three-day tour will touch over a dozen towns, where a series of meetings and one-to-ones are planned. The primary objective is to hold the Youth Congress elections after a similar and successful exercise in Punjab, Gujarat and Pondicherry.
But Tamil Nadu will be more complicated than Uttar Pradesh and Bihar because the party has never single- handedly ruled the state since the early sixties. “The Congress lost power to the undivided DMK 52 years ago in the state. Since then, it has been in the doghouse, with the two mainstream Dravidian parties – the DMK and the AIADMK – ruling the roost,” a senior party leader said.
Tamil Nadu is the only state in the south where the Congress has failed to stage a comeback. In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and even Pondicherry, the Congress has done well despite regional sentiments running high there too.
“In 1967, Congress polled 51 per cent votes in the state despite the poll defeat. Today, the party’s vote-share has slumped to single digit percentage,” the leader said.
The Dravidian parties are not to be entirely blamed for the Congress’s pitfalls. The party is saddled with rampant factionalism and total indifference to the grassroots machinery. But the high command in Delhi is happy with the clever seat- sharing formula evolved by the crafty Dravidian parties.
Of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the Congress gets the majority. For the assembly polls, it’s vice versa.
But Rahul has an edge.
“There is substantial number of young voters. Rahul is trying to infuse young blood into the Congress. This will make DMK chief Karunanidhi jittery,” the leader added.
He might get help from 35-year-old Kollywood actor Vijay aka Ilayathalapathi, who offered to help the Congress with his Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (People’s Movement) led by his 32,000 fan clubs. This translates into 25 lakh followers.
WAR OF SONS
Rahul Gandhi’s “Mission Tamil Nadu” looks nothing more than a war of sons of the old guards in the faction-ridden Congress in the state. To grab his attention, everyone is jostling for a place in the Youth Congress.
Known faces like the Harvard-Cambridge educated Karti Chidambaram, son of home minister P. Chidambaram, stand disqualified as the new age criteria eliminates them from the contest. But Jothimani, an active Congress worker, is reportedly enjoying the patronage of Karti for the state unit Youth Congress president’s post.
“And then, there is EVR Thirumagan, son of former Union minister EVKS Elangovan. He is also throwing his weight around,” Balaji, a lawyer and the Youth Congress’s state unit general secretary, said.
The dominant faction led by Union shipping minister G. K. Vasan is also active. The young Vasan, donning the mantle of his late father G.K. Moopanar, has a greater say in the affairs of the party than any other leader. Even Jayanti Natarajan is reported to be patronising a candidate.
–Agencies