The Congress may be in for more trouble in Tamil Nadu as speculation is rife about Union Shipping Minister GK Vasan's plans to revive the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC).
The party got a nasty surprise last week when hundreds of life size posters of Vasan sprang up all over Chennai, exhorting him to revive the TMC, which was floated by G Karuppiah Moopanar, his father and a Gandhi family loyalist in 1996.
Due to intense factionalism within the party, the Congress is already in a pretty bad condition in Tamil Nadu. last month, State Youth Congress president Yuvaraj, a nominee of Vasan, was suspended by the central leadership on disciplinary grounds. However, it is alleged that he was a victim of factionalism.
The Chidambaram faction calls the shots within the faction-ridden party because of its proximity with 10, Janpath Road. Vasan does not figure anywhere in the party hierarchy though he is a Union Cabinet Minister. The indifference of the Central leadership has reportedly upset the leader.
Though Vasan has refuted reports that he is planning to revive the TMC, which merged with the Congress before the 2004 lok Sabha elections, sources close to him do not rule out the possibility.
TNCC president BS Gnanadesikan has suspended Sreekant, a Congress worker, who is said to be the main hand behind the poster campaign.
The posters carried life-size pictures of K Kamaraj, Moopanar and Vasan with slogans calling for the revival of the TMC.
Senior Congress leaders point out that Sreekant would not have dared to put up such posters without any patronage from higher ups in the party. And Sreekant is a known follower of Vasan.
The TMC was formed by Moopanar in 1996 in protest against the then Prime Minister and Congress chief PV Narasimha Rao's decision to align with the AIADMK for the Assembly elections. Moopanar wanted the Congress to align with the DMK, but Rao's decision to cast his lot with Jayalalithaa led to a split in the Congress and the birth of TMC. The 1996 Assembly election was swept by the DMK-TMC combine.
Sources said Vasan is exploring his options as the Congress is in a battered condition in Tamil Nadu and his term in the Rajya Sabha is coming to an end on April 2, 2014.
There is no possibility of him getting re-elected to the Upper House under the present dispensation in Tamil Nadu legislative Assembly. His chances of getting elected as a lok Sabha candidate from Tamil Nadu under the Congress flag also seem bleak at this juncture. If he does not act now, Vasan may end up in the political wilderness till the next Assembly election scheduled for 2016.
If the "Amma" of Poes Garden can help him get into the Rajya Sabha for the next six years, Vasan may be game for reviving the TMC, said a leader.
Vasan may be equally amenable to striking a deal with the DMK too. He shares a special relationship with DMK chief Karunanidhi. Equally important is his family bonding with the DMDK leader Vijayakanth.