Chief Minister and All India NR Congress (AINRC) founder N Rangasamy is trying to draw Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress dissident leader P Kannan into his fold to fight against their common enemy Union Minister of State for PMO V Narayanasamy even as AICC is making attempts to retain him in the party.
Rangasamy, who came alone in a friend’s car without his security, quietly slipped into a hotel where Kannan was staying and sought the latter’s support for the party candidate R Radhakrishnan. The two leaders held discussions for more than an hour at noon, highly placed sources said.
Though Rangasamy has not been in good terms with Kannan, due to political compulsion Rangasamy has made the move to secure Kannan’s support. Getting Kannan’s support will not only give AINRC candidate political advantage, but will also be disadvantageous for the Congress candidate Narayanasamy and most importantly a step towards Rangasamy achieving his goal of seeing Narayanasamy’s defeat.
Infact, the only common thread that binds Kannan and Rangasamy is their enmity towards Narayanasamy. While Kannan‘s supporters had revolted against the nomination of Narayanasamy, Rangasamy had fielded candidate with a vengeance to see the defeat of Narayanasamy. This is also apparent in the election speeches of Rangasamy.
“Narayanasamy had blocked schemes and funds and a change is required for the development and welfare of the people. I will soon come out with details of how Narayanasamy has been troubling my government,” Rangasamy said at a meeting in Mangalam constituency on Wednesday.
Both Kannan and Rangasamy were not available for comments. On the other hand, realising that the contest for Puducherry seat will be stiff and the only constituency in TN and Puducherry where a Central Minister can win, the Congress is also trying to pacify the leader by finding a solution.