Chennai, Dec 30 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) is mired in factional war, even as the party is in the process of mounting a state-level campaign as part of its 2024 general election preparation.
The staying away of former TNCC presidents, including K.V. Thangabalu, E.V.K.S. Elangovan and Legislature Party leader, K. Selvaperunthagai during the office-bearers meeting on Thursday as part of the preparations for the Kaiyodu Kai Korpam (Let us Join hands) programme was an indicator to what is in store.
The Kaiyodu Kai Korpam programme is the state-level campaign of the party as part of the Jodo Bharat programme of Rahul Gandhi. The party’s state president K.S. Alagiri has been in the process of revamping the party by taking strong political positions and conducting regular programmes that have led to the state Congress gaining respect in Tamil Nadu.
With the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) led by the DMK preparing for the 2024 elections, the Congress which is a part of it, has chalked out an ambitious programme of the door-to-door campaign highlighting the ‘anti-people’ policies of the NDA government at the Centre and the pro-people policies and programmes of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu.
The group war in the state Congress came to the fore when a party workers, who are the supporters of party legislator Ruby Manoharan, ransacked the party’s state head office, Satyamoorthi Bhavan on November 15. This was due to some issues at the Thoothukudi district committee wherein the supporters of the MLA were not given prominent postings in the block Congress committee of the district.
The disciplinary committee of the state Congress immediately suspended Ruby Manoharan and his supporters, but the AICC secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Dhinesh Gundurao intervened in the matter and revoked his suspension hours after he was suspended. This led to friction in the state Congress with several leaders who were against the state president, K.S. Alagiri coming together and sending missives to the party high command for the removal of Alaigiri. Some senior leaders, including K.V. Thangabalu and E.V.K.S. Elangovan personally met the Congress high command and conveyed the issue.
Congress leader and former Union Minister Dhanushkodi Adityan has gone on record stating that group war and factionalism in the Congress party of Tamil Nadu was due to the fact that the party was growing in the state. The Congress in Tamil Nadu has been gaining ground ever since Alagiri became the state president of the party and regular programmes are organised across the state.
Even as the party is ridden with factionalism, the state president and those close to him are in the process of moving ahead with the door-to-door campaign aimed at preparing for the Lok Sabha elections of 2024.
–IANS
aal/dpb
