Chennai: Union shipping minister G.K. Vasan has timed it perfectly, but to little avail. In meeting DMDK leader Vijayakanth on New Year eve shortly after the actor responded positively to DMK’s overtures, Vasan had excited Congress cadres, whose morale was at low ebb.
However, lieutenants close to Vasan have enough reasons to believe that the excitement could be short-lived and there was truth in Vasan dismissing the meeting as a “personal call”.
While admitting that they had discussed a lot of politics during the 40-minute rendezvous, Vasan stated that elections were at least four months away and there was plenty of time left for Vijayakanth to consult his party state executive committee and spell out his strategy for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
A former MLA close to the shipping minister said the Captain gave a shocker to Vasan when he subtly suggested TMC revival by wondering what he was doing in the Congress party still.
Truth whatsoever, it was obvious from Vasan’s statement that Congressmen have little to take from the meeting. Vasan reiterated that party vice president Rahul Gandhi was the natural choice of Congress for PM candidature.
Even optimistic Congressmen close to Vasan admit that AICC, which has not been in the best of terms with the Moopanar progeny of late, would not authorize him to open negotiations with the Captain given the easy access DMDK youth wing secretary and Vijayakanth’s brother-in-law L.K. Sudeesh has to AICC top brass like Sonia’s political secretary Ahmed Patel.
The Congressmen who believe the Captain is tilting DMK way also conceded that alliance with DMDK would be insufficient if it hopes to win LS seats from TN.
They even see DMDK presidium chairman Panruti Ramachandran’s resignation as an indicator of narrowing of distance between DMK and DMDK.
