THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After putting in 101 days of relentless service for strengthening the Congress party in the Assembly elections, Perumal Viswanathan, the central Congress secretary in-charge of the State and who is responsible for the electioneering in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha districts finally left home for Chennai on Monday.
Former Congress MP from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu has had many sleepless nights towards the run-up to the candidature list. He was later caught between the ego hassles of certain senior Congress candidates during their campaigning.
But a patient Viswanathan showed his leadership skills on numerous occasions where he found solutions to complex issues with élan and poise. The notable issue was when he brought in a peeved K Muraleedharan to the hotel where Priyanka Gandhi was staying as he was upset for being sidelined in her campaign trail by the local Congress leadership.
Sixty-year-old Viswanathan feels that if not now, then the Congress will never bounce back in Kerala, which shows the do-or-die battle the party is waging now. He was instrumental in giving a clarion call to the central Congress Screening Committee chairman H K Patil on the need for bringing in new faces. Viswanathan is anticipating that Congress will win over 80 seats.
“I’m an aggressive politician and my duty is to ensure that the Congress wins the maximum seats. It is true that whoever wins the maximum number of seats among the 14 seats in Thiruvananthapuram, will form the Government. The new faces in the Congress are going to be the game changers in this Assembly election,” said Viswanathan to TNIE.
Many a time, the local Congress leaders mistook him for their colleague as he was found sporting the trademark starched white khadi shirt and mundu. He has lost track of the number of booth committee meetings he has attended as he believes strongly that the party has to be strengthened right at the grass root level. Now Viswanathan is looking forward to attending the jubilation programme of the Congress on May 2 when the poll outcome is known.