PUDUCHERRY:Taking a cue from DMK, the Congress is planning to bifurcate its Puducherry unit into north and south units and place them under two leaders in an attempt to strengthen the party in the run up to the 2016 Assembly elections.
“We have mooted the idea of placing the north and south units in Puducherry under two working leaders and the Karaikal unit under another leader,” Pradesh Congress Committee president A V Subramanian told Express. “We have discussed it with the AICC general secretary for effecting the change”.
Meanwhile, the Congress has sidestepped two dissident MLAs, Malladi Krishna Rao and PNR Thirumurugan, as it prepares for 2016 elections. Krishna Rao, representing Yanam, and Thirumurugan, representing Karaikal (North), have openly expressed their preference for Chief Minister N Rangasamy and his All India NR Congress (AINRC). Rao had even stated that he would support Rangasamy to win the Yanam seat in 2016. On the other hand, Thirumurugan had been distancing himself from the party and avoided participating in party agitations. In these circumstances,the Congress has chalked out plans to counter it by nurturing those constituencies for the party with alternate leaders. “We have selected a very good candidate who is silently working for the party in Yanam,” Subramanian said, but refused to reveal the identity of the person. “After Rajya Sabha elections, we will project him. He will oppose Malladi Krishna Rao and it will not be an easy walk for the latter,” said Subramanian.
The party has appointed Chandramohan, the block Congress president, as in-charge for Karaikal (North) replacing Thirumurugan. He had already started work and the support he received while organising an agitation in Karaikal is testimony to his popularity, Subramanian added. Around 10,000 people turned up for the agitation, even though Thirumurugan attempted to scuttle it said Subramanian.
