JUST SPAMMING | The Game That Congress Plays, Continues

Some people may still remember that day in March 1996 when Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the headquarters of the Congress in Tamil Nadu, turned a warzone with rioters indulging in arson, pulling down the giant cutouts of the then party national president P V Narasimha Rao inside the premises and also damaging property. It was nevertheless a historic day in State, nay national, politics. For one, the arsonists did not come from outside. They were dedicated Congress workers. And two, it was a revolt against their own leadership in New Delhi against the decision to align with the then ruling party, the AIADMK, for the impending general elections.

When the public mood at the ground level was then tilted against the ruling AIADMK, the Congress high command, without taking the State level leaders like G K Moopanar into consideration went ahead and forged the alliance, triggering the open revolt that led to the Congress splitting vertically at the State. It is history that the unsavoury events at Sathyamurthy Bhavan led to the formation of the Tamil Maanila Congress, led by Moopanar, and that party aligning with the DMK for the elections with famous political commentator Cho Ramaswamy brokering the deal and actor Rajinikanth throwing his weight behind the alliance.

Though much water has flown under the Napier Bridge since then, the incident is a reminder of the Congress party’s traditional style of functioning, particularly in striking deals with the allies at the State level and the kind of respect it gives to State level leaders. In 1996, even towering personalities like G K Moopanar and P Chidambaram were overlooked by Narasimha Rao and his coterie because they felt some kind of an urge to align with the late AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa without taking the local views into account. That the Congress move turned into a debacle is history but that was not the only time when a national party had refused to give importance to local preferences and sentiments.

Perhaps that is because of the recurring proclivity of national level leaders to cock a snook at grassroots realities and opinions and believe in their own phantasmic views based on inputs provided by those dwelling in intellectual ivory towers. Narasimha Rao, in 1996, believed that the AIADMK was poised for a triumphant return to power though his own party leaders in the State had an opposite view. So if such an experienced politician like Narasimha Rao can make such a wrong calculation, a relative greenhorn like Rahul Gandhi is highly susceptible for making a similar mistake of not having his ears to the ground. But if something happens on those lines in 2026, it is purely the problem of the Congress, which is anyway not doing well, anywhere.

Such repeated fiascos could also be one reason for the Congress looking for opportunities in Tamil Nadu to make its presence felt in the political arena, triggering an adventurous exploration for hooking up with the nascent Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) of actor Vijay. So the visit of Praveen Chakravarthy to the posh apartment of Vijay in Foreshore Estate could be a way of Rahul Gandhi exploring political alternatives without exactly upsetting the applecart. Or it could have been triggered by some personal ambition of Praveen Chakravarty, who has no connections with grassroots politics though having enormous experience in dealing with political theory. We don’t know what it was.

But what has become clear is that the Congress party is no longer happy to continue as a dormant ally of the ruling DMK. So, at the State level the resentment saw expression through some protests over petty issues like an objection to a DMK leader’s remarks on the late K Kamaraj’s use of air conditioner during his lifetime. Also some leaders openly spoke about getting a higher share of seats to contest in the 2026 elections from the alliance leader, the DMK. But those rumblings were quelled by the TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai, who is seemingly the bedrock of the DMK-Congress alliance in the State. So when the chairman of the All-India Professionals Congress, Pravin Chakravorthy, comes over to indulge Vijay in a longish conversation, it only brings back memories of the Congress strategy in 1996.

With the popularity of the AIADMK sliding terribly in the last phase of J Jayalalithaa's maiden tenure as Chief Minister, the TNCC was gravitating towards the DMK on an anti-incumbency plank when the Congress top brass decided to align with the AIADMK. Jayalalithaa was in direct touch with the Congress leaders in Delhi even before Narashimha Rao became Prime Minister and TNCC just toed the line taken by the high command. Maybe, the Congress is going back to those days if it is toying with the idea of hooking up with the TVK and is devising ways to do it without taking the TNCC into confidence. An earlier sign of Congress interest in TVK was felt when Rahul Gandhi called up Vijay and had a long conversation with him from North America immediately after a stampede happened at a meeting of TVK at Karur on September 27. Then, as it was speculated, Rahul Gandhi did not contact Vijay on his return to India and it was believed that the Congress alliance with DMK was on track. Now, we realize that it might derail even without any signal to the local Congress leaders. Well, to protect a Congress tradition.