Is Congress moving away from DMK?

CHENNAI: For the Congress in Tamil Nadu, there is a definite shift happening towards the ruling AIADMK; or at least it’s moving away from ally DMK. The arrival of ex-AIADMK man Su Thirunavukarasar to the Sathyamurthy Bhavan replacing AIADMK hater E.V.K.S. Elangovan has heralded a change in the party’s attitude towards Dravidian majors in Tamil Nadu. Be it the new TNCC chief’s remarks contradicting that of M. Karunanidhi and M.K. Stalin on releasing the photographs of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa at the Apollo Hospitals and the demand for an interim Chief Minister or party vice president Rahul Gandhi’s surprise visit to Chennai last week — the Congress has surely shifted its focus to the future.

Appointed to the faction-ridden TNCC with the mandate to “rejuvenate” and “create a separate identity” for the party in the Dravidian state, Mr Thirunavukarasar, a former minister in the M.G. Ramachandran Cabinet, has for sure ruffled a few feathers in the DMK camp by his “pro-AIADMK” stance on several issues within the one month of taking over. Mr Rahul’s surprise air-dash to Chennai to enquire about Ms Jayalalithaa’s health with doctors attending on her raised quite a few eyebrows in political circles, especially in the DMK, since it came out of the blue.

Many in the TNCC feel that the new TNCC chief kept them dark about the visit. The new TNCC chief’s actions of criticising the DMK within and outside the party forums have supporters and opponents alike in the party.  While addressing the district leaders recently, Mr Thirunavukarasar is understood to have used “strong words” to criticise the DMK and has been saying openly that he is not under any compulsion to toe the ally’s line on all issues.

While majority of the district leaders feel it is “quite premature” to look for change in alliance partners since the Lok Sabha polls is nearly three years away, a section stands solidly behind the new TNCC chief arguing that the party should not piggy back on the Dravidian parties for long. “Our new TNCC chief did not say anything that went against the alliance dharma. DMK is just our ally and it is not necessary for us to be on the same page all the time. Views on several issues can be different and that’s what happened in the case of the Chief Minister’s health. We felt there was no need to release a picture of her in the hospital bed, but DMK felt otherwise. This does not mean we want to go with the AIADMK,” a senior leader said, requesting anonymity.

Political analyst Bernard D’ Sami feels while Mr Gandhi’s visit to Apollo Hospitals to enquire about Ms Jayalalithaa can be taken as a “pure political courtesy call”, the party would surely look for a change when it comes to alliance question in Tamil Nadu. “The Congress sent an outwardly open message of political courtesy when Rahul Gandhi visited Apollo Hospitals last week. While it is sort of a political courtesy, the Congress leadership is for sure going for an introspection across the country and the new leadership would work along the lines of the AICC,” he said.