In Tamil Nadu, Congress may be left high and dry

Chennai: Only a miracle can save the Congress in Tamil Nadu, says a diehard Congressman in the city. Not many in the party, including its honourable ministers in the Central Cabinet, may want to contest that statement.

“That miracle, if it happens, must come from Vijayakanth agreeing to align with us. Our prospects could get better if the DMK too joins. But as of now, this political picture is fast fading”, said the Congressman, who is close to a powerful Union minister.

“Please do not quote me; I do not want to prick a punctured balloon and ruin what little hope and confidence that some of my colleagues still nurse in Tamil Nadu”, said the Congress senior, speaking not just for himself but also for a good majority of TN Congressmen.

They are all haunted by the cheering that reverberated in the recent DMK general council session when Kalaignar spoke against aligning with the Congress. And they all know that even if some magician in the AICC, such as the recent emissary Gulam Nabi Azad, manages to placate Kalaignar and sew up the torn alliance, the DMK cadres will not work for the Congress candidates.

“We learn that Stalin is strongly opposed to having alliance with us. We hear that he has been telling his father that it would be better for the DMK to go it alone without bothering about winning seats in this Lok Sabha election, so that the party could work harder for the 2016 Assembly poll”, said another state Congress functionary, considered to be ‘friendly’ with some DMK seniors.

Next: Congress orphaned in TN

Congress orphaned in TN

Chennai: Whether the Congress ends up as an ‘orphan’ in Tamil Nadu for the Lok Sabha elections coming up in four mo­nth would depend on which way ‘Captain’ Vij­ayakanth goes. It would be a complete washout for the Congress if the rumours that the macho hero has already signed up with the BJP turn true.

The Congress in 2009 had contested 15 seats (out of total 39) and won eight in Tamil Nadu, besides the one seat in Puducherry bagged by V Nara­yan­as­amy, who became an influential Minister of State in PMO.

Even in the tiny-compact Union Territory that still sports ‘nationalism’ in contrast to the high-decibel Dravidian politics in neighbouring TN, the Congress is unable to place its bets on returning the MoS to the Lok Sabha.

The situation is worse for Union Ministers from Tamil Na­du, P Chidambaram and Su­darsanam Nachiappan—G K Vasan is lucky because he is a member of the Ra­j­ya Sabha but then, his no­mi­nees will be scorched in May and cannot blame the sun.

“Vasan’s may be the dominant group in the state Congress unit but that does not mean he has the numbers to face an election without a strong alliance. We do not have ground le­vel workers. Our (Dravi­dia­n) allies have been helping us in the previous elections, even at booth level. You know very well that the Congress only has leaders and not cad­res”, quipped an old timer.

“PC (Chidambaram) will sail through if we manage the alliances, as he has cultivated his (Sivaganga) constituency pretty well th­ro­u­gh several development programmes and opening bank branches.

But he will find it tough if we must go it alone, particularly if the AIADMK fields a Mukkulathur candidate. Perhaps he will end up as the only Congress candidate crossing the one-lakh votes mark while the rest will lose deposits miserably ”, said a ‘PC-camper’.

The suave Harvard lawyer had sw­eat aplenty on his face as the votes were being counted in the 2009 poll. Int­er­es­t­ingly, he has been talking in recent months about having other kinds of plans, such as travelling and reading.

In contrast to the Con­gress woes, the BJP is not doing all that bad. Reports from the districts say that the awareness about Modi is on the rise and the party has already sealed poll pact with the PMK and the MDMK.

If party insiders he­re are to be believed, Vij­a­y­akanth’s DMDK too is ‘in’. Party state president Pon Radhakrishnan and nat­ional executive member L Gan­esan are likely to meet Vijayakanth on Monday, expected to return from Malaysia Sunday night. The saffron party hopes to contest 10-12 seats in the state in Captain’s company and win at least five.