CHENNAI: It is almost two years now since S Thirunavukkarasar has been appointed as president of the Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress party. The 69-year-old leader, who have had stints in various other political parties too, seems to have managed to maintain a low profile amidst the political turmoil in the state, but is silently taking steps to strengthen the grand old party in the state. He says Congressmen will contest elections to around 70,000 posts in 13,000 panchayats if the local body elections are conducted despite its alliance with the DMK. Excerpts from his freewheeling chat with Express:
What measures you have taken to strengthen the Congress in TN?
We have increased the number of district units of the party from 65 to 72. We have carved out a district unit for every three Assembly constituencies. This will help us in managing the party affairs at ground level. And we have enrolled around 30 lakh-35 lakh members to the party in recent years. Elections to posts of functionaries of various party units too have been conducted and we are working toward enrolment of 20 lakh-25 lakh more members to the party before the upcoming Parliamentary elections (in 2019). We are also raising many issues by staging protests on our own and by joining with the DMK.
But how strong is your party at booth level?
Both DMK and AIAMDK have a strong presence in the State because of their party structure from the grass-root level. We are also working to have such a strong presence from the booth-level. We are working towards appointing booth-committee members across the state.
Of late, many political parties seem eager to have an alliance with the Congress, including the RK Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran, VCK and the PMK. How do you see this?
After four years of misrule by the BJP and the empty promises by PM Modi, many political parties are
now seeing the Congress as a favourable ally. A wave in support of the Congress is visible after Rahul Gandhi’’s speech in Parliament on the no-confidence motion against the government. People have also turned in favour of the Congress. Hence more parties wish to have a tie-up with the Congress and the scene is not only in Tamil Nadu, but across the country. It is a very welcoming change and the party high command will take appropriate decisions to use all kinds of support to capture power at the Centre.
Will Congress contest the local body polls without alliance as it will be an opportunity to strengthen the party and nurture leadership at grass-root level?
There are about 13,000 panchayats in the State and around 70,000 posts starting from ward member to village panchayat president and vice-presidents. The elections to these posts will not be mostly contested on the party symbols. For these posts, Congressmen will contest in huge numbers whenever the elections are conducted, even if we are in alliance with the DMK.
Do you agree with the accusations by Tamil nationalists that the rule of the Dravidian parties in Tamill Nadu has ruined the state?
No. Tamil Nadu got better infrastructure in education, public health, road connectivity and water reservoir due to the rule by Kamarajar and Chief Ministers from the Dravidian parties such as CN Annadurai, Kalaingar Karunanidhi, MGR and others. They are making such allegations for political gain.
When will the Congress realise the goal of Kamarajar rule in TN?
It is not a marriage to fix a date. It depends on various factors, including alliances. The Congress already contested alone in 1977 and in 1989 and failed in both attempts. But in 1991 the party could have captured power, if it had contested alone. Since the Congress joined with the AIADMK, the sympathy wave created by the Rajiv Gandhi assassination helped only the AIADMK.