While almost all factions in Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) were happy with DMK’s decision not to align with it for the Lok Sabha polls, the development has also put the focus on the decision-making process in the All India Congress Committee (AICC), which Tamil Nadu Congressmen say is the “root cause” for troubles of the party in the State.
On Monday, Congress workers expressed their happiness with the end of ties with the DMK by bursting crackers at the Satyamurthi Bhavan. Senior party leaders who spoke to Express, said that DMK’s move has freed the Congress from the clutches of the Dravidian outfit, a nine-year relationship which brought “more ills to the party nationally than benefits.”
However, some of the leaders said that the current “precarious” situation of the party in Tamil Nadu reflected the inept handling of the ground situation by the AICC as far as affairs of the TNCC were concerned.
This was clearly the case with its strategy for the Rajya Sabha polls, when, despite the overwhelming opinion of the TNCC to back Vijayakant’s DMDK, the high command decided to support the DMK candidate.
The decision, a senior leader said, has come back to haunt the TNCC as the DMDK, which was first promised support for the RS seat but was later left in the lurch, now unwilling to join hands with the Congress and looks to be gravitating towards the BJP.
“At that time (RS polls), we clearly said it was a golden chance to make friends with the DMDK,” pointed out a former TNCC president. “The consistent problem with the AICC has been its unwillingness to let the state unit decide. We feel functional autonomy is necessary,” added a general secretary of the TNCC.
While decision-making powers are solely vested with the AICC, if the elections turn out to be a debacle, accountability alone will be fixed with the local leaders.
“But many of us feel it is already too late to do a salvage operation. We have to work on a war footing now,” said the leader and added the high command always lets other parties dump it rather than take a proactive decision. However, addressing a press conference on Monday, TNCC president B S Gnanadesikan said there were no regrets for the decision the party made in the
RS polls.
“The high command took the decision based on the political situation that prevailed at that time. In politics, there are no gains and loses. It is part and parcel of a process,” he pointed out.