Tiruchi has a special place in the history of the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), to be re-launched on Friday by the former Union Minister, G.K. Vasan.
It was there he was introduced to politics by his father G.K. Moopanar, and the TMC held its first State conference after winning many seats in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in 1996.
The massive response to the event encouraged P. Chidambaram, former Union Finance Minister and one of Moopanar’s lieutenants, to declare that the party would march from Rockfort to Fort St. George, the seat of power.
“I requested Moopanar to give us vidhai nell (paddy seeds). He reluctantly allowed Vasan to appear on the dais to the celebration of the partymen,” recalls Peter Alphonse, former MP and one of the Congress leaders who have rallied behind Mr. Vasan. It was the last meeting for Moopanar, who died in August 2001.
The TMC owed its birth to the anti-AIADMK sentiment in the State in the run-up to the 1996 elections. Five years later, it aligned with the same AIADMK. As sustaining the party proved difficult, Mr. Vasan merged it with the Congress in August 2002 in the presence of AICC president Sonia Gandhi.
He secured a Cabinet berth in the Congress-led UPA government, but constant tension between him and the AICC high-command led to his exit as he felt the party was discredited in the State because of its indifference to the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.
Mr. Vasan has now succeeded in retaining the old name for his party. His supporters feel that the political vacuum in the State and the age factor will work in his favour.
On Wednesday, he unveiled the party flag with the portrait of Kamaraj and G.K. Moopanar engrained in the centre. “Political parties that ruled Tamil Nadu for almost five decades are on the wane. Their leadership is also tired and frustrated. The people of the State are looking for an alternative that will not compromise on the interests of the State while upholding the sovereignty of the country,” said Mr. Peter Alphonse.
In his message, Mr. Vasan said the goal of his party was to restore the people’s faith in democracy as they were disenchanted with the functioning of democratic organisations and elected representatives. “I know that launching and running a party is no small task. But we have to dedicate ourselves to the task as it is the need of the hour,” he said. The party, he added, would strive for “prosperous Tamil Nadu and strong India,” a slogan coined by G.K. Moopanar.
Asked whether Mr. Vasan would be able to run a new party, especially when many former Moopanar loyalists have chosen to stay with the Congress, the former Union Minister, S.R. Balasubramanian, said the Congress was left with leaders apprehensive of invoking Kamaraj’s name. “New faces are joining us as our decision has caught the imagination of the youth. You will see the trend in Tiruchi,” he said.
“National parties cannot nurture the hope of capturing power in a State where the political space is dominated by regional parties,” Mr. Alphonse said.
