Congress sees revival chances in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: The visit of the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to Apollo Hospital may be a gesture showing his political culture, but it has enthused the hearts of Congress functionaries since the move is certain to win the hearts of AIADMK cadre and voters.

Rahul Gandhi becomes the first national leader to visit Apollo Hospital scoring over the BJP’s national leaders through his goodwill gesture. The visit also comes at a time when the Congress sees chances of the party’s revival under the prevailing political circumstances. With anti-BJP sentiments running high after the Centre’s opposition to the Supreme Court verdict to form Cauvery Management Board, Congress functionaries feel that it is the only national party which could strengthen itself in Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka, which has only 28 MP seats, often shares it between three parties - Congress, BJP and JD(S). But, Tamil Nadu people have often showed tendency to give over 35 seats to a single alliance.

Congress functionaries feel that the sudden visit is also intended to send a message to the AIADMK that it is not friendless at the national level and the Congress is ready to give a helping hand to the state government if it comes under any kind of pressure from the Union government led by the BJP.

Besides, the Congress is upset with the DMK which has allocated a paltry number of seats to the national party in the local body election negotiations. With the civic body elections put off after court intervention, the Congress wants to end its dependence on DMK and take the course of self-reliance.

Commenting on the visit, youth Congress national secretary S. Jothimani said “It should be seen as the political culture of the Congress and the kind of decent politics practised by our leader Rahul Gandhi. No political motives should be attributed to it”.

At a time when the BJP was confidently braced to face the local body elections, the Union government’s U-turn on CMB had come as a blow to its growth prospects in the state. Though, Karnataka government is headed by Congress, it is the Centre’s opposition to CMB that has caused a setback to Tamil Nadu.