Rahul Gandhi has been declared as Congress president-elect uncontested. He will take charge as Congress president from mother Sonia Gandhi on December 16 - two days after polling gets over in Gujarat and two days before results are declared.
As Rahul Gandhi prepares to get his stamp on Congress's decisions, one of the States that he will have to concentrate on is Tamil Nadu as the Grand Old Party is on its last legs here.
In MA examinations for English Literature students, a permanently expected question is “Shakespeare has only heroines; no heroes”. Similarly, Tamil Nadu Congress has only leaders and no cadres.
The Indian National Congress (INC) which had absolute majority in Madras State in three elections from 1952, lost its hold over Tamil Nadu in 1967, thanks to the maha gatbandhan (grand alliance) forged by the DMK with a number of parties including the Swathanthra Party of C. Rajagopalachari, deemed to be the Chanakya of Indian political scenario. Then INC could secure only 51 seats in the 234-member House. Since 1967 elections Tamil Nadu had been witness to brazen opportunism and political expediency. And it would be very difficult to remember who was the bedfellow of whom despite any amount of mud slinging and mutual recriminations.
Since 1967 it has been downhill for the grand old party. Never could it even dream of a three-digit figure in Tamil Nadu. Following is the performance of the Congress in this State since 1967 elections.
Indira Gandhi, in a vindictive mood against the Syndicate of senior leaders, including K. Kamaraj, not only split the Congress but also did not bother to contest even a single Assembly seat in 1971. When the depleted Congress (Organisation) contested, it could manage only 15 seats. Despite both the factions of the Congress coming together in 1977 (after the demise of Kamaraj), the phenomenon called MGR proved too big, both for the Congress and also the DMK, his parent party that threw him out in 1972. Then Congress could get only 27 seats. Thereafter it started riding piggyback either on the DMK or the AIADMK in a totally brazen fashion thus virtually burying the morale of its cadre five fathom deep.
In 1980, it forged an alliance with the DMK whom it called “corrupt” couple of years ago and in the next 1984 elections, it struck an alliance with the AIADMK.
Once again, it was only in 1989 that the Congress chose to go it alone under G.K. Moopanar. But all that he could manage was only 26 seats.
From 1991, once again the Congress found some cosy alliance with either the DMK or the AIADMK.
In 1996, it suffered a split as G.K. Moopanar took away a chunk of cadres by forming Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) protesting against the decision of P.V. Narasimha Rao to align with the “corrupt” AIADMK. Then all that Congress could manage was only 4 seats.
By 2001, both INC and TMC were in the AIADMK alliance. While INC secured only 7 seats, TMC managed 23. But the alliance changed in 2006 and DMK-Congress romped home with 96 and 34 seats respectively. Despite running a minority government, the DMK did not bother to give even a single berth in its Ministry to the Congress. No congress leader except EVKS Elangovan had the gumption to demand it.
And that is what DMK chief M. Karunanidhi probably called “மதà¯à®¤à®¿à®¯à®¿à®²à¯ கூடà¯à®Ÿà®¾à®Ÿà¯à®šà®¿ மாநிலதà¯à®¤à®¿à®²à¯ சà¯à®¯à®¾à®Ÿà¯à®šà®¿ (coalition at the Centre and self-rule in the State). Ironically, the DMK was part of the UPA I and UPA II Governments headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh. In UPA II the DMK went to the extent of demanding infrastructure ministries.
But 2011 saw the same alliance receive a drubbing. While DMK could manage 31 seats, the Congress could get only 5. The next election was no better for the Congress. Once again it was the same alliance. But, while the DMK managed to secure 89 seats, the Congress could emerge victorious only in 8.
The reasons for such a poor show by the Congress were there for all the world to see. Groupism reared its ugly head even when G.K. Moopanar was alive. Despite being a very tall leader, who had excellent contacts with the high command, he could not control the TNCC president and his bête noire Vazhappadi K. Ramamurthy. Both of them avoided going to the headquarters of the party, either Sathyamoorthy Bhavan or the Teynampet Congress Grounds when one of them was the TNCC president.
Even after the demise of both Moopanar and Ramamurthy, groupism continued to play havoc with the party.
There are any number of factions even now. Nobody in Delhi did ever bother to set things right at the State level and the Congress high command was all the time trying to cling on to its fragile Government at the Centre. Even that is out of its hands now and it is in power only in a handful of States.
Despite having enormous clout at Sonia Gandhi level, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram could not bring the party under his control. Sathyamoorthy Bhavan used to witness any number of fisticuffs whether it was K.V. Thangkabalu or B.S. Gnanadesikan or E.V.K.S. Elangovan who was holding fort on General Patters Road. With the exit of G.K. Vasan, a chunk of former TMC cadres have also left the party.
Ultimately it is S. Thirunavukkarasar (who has been in and out of a number of parties) who has got to shoulder the burden now.
There has been no unity in the party even when it had to go in for enrolling new members. Many of the meetings that I have covered ended in pandemonium with at least a few volunteers getting roughed up.
It has become customary for the Congress leaders here to rush to 10, Janpath to have the blessings of Sonia Gandhi.
With the high command struggling to put up a fight against the marauding BJP at the national level after securing just 44 MPs in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, there is none to take care of a weakling like the TNCC.
The State which has begotten stalwarts like C. Rajagopalachari, S. Satyamurti, K. Kamaraj and G.K. Moopanar is now seeing its Congress leaders going with a begging bowl to Arivalayam.
Can it ever see another glorious chapter at least under Rahul Gandhi as the party is unlikely to see a new president for another couple of decades?