With One Eye On The Future

SONIA Gandhi rooted for Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) president G.K. Moopanar when the United Front was groping to find a replacement for H.D. Deve Gowda. A choice vetoed by the Left parties in favour of Gujral because of the TMC chief's close links with the Congress. Seen in this perspective, Moopanar's reaction to Sonia Gandhi's entry into politics was rather tame: "It is an internal development and has no impact on the TMC." But the former Congressman was quick to point out that Sonia would strengthen the Congress and help the country's oldest political party to overcome its "leadership crisis".

Rubbishing the BJP's opposition to Sonia's foray into politics on the grounds that she is a foreigner, he said: "Historically, people have accepted Dr Annie Besant and Mother Teresa. There is no reason to discard Sonia." But the TMC leadership cannot think of a merger with the Congress—not yet, because that would confirm Left suspicions about its Congress tilt. Says a senior TMC leader: "A merger with the Congress will ruin our attempts to project the DMK as the villain of the piece—the party which denied the most powerful job to a fellow Tamil. It will also spoil our aims: to prove that we are the true regional party with a national outlook." The TMC wants to consolidate its position in the state. The pressure from the cadres to retain a distinct identity is enormous and the leadership cannot ignore this factor. "Now we resolve our internal problems at Satyamurthi Bhavan. In the Congress, for every small need, we had to rush to Delhi. It costs Rs 13,000 a trip. We will not surrender this newfound freedom at any cost," pipes up another leader. The TMC leaders also feel that if they join hands with the Congress at this stage, they have to fight a leadership battle at home with K.V. Thangabalu, TNCC president, and K. Ramamurthy, former TNCC president.

The TMC leadership is, however, not averse to working out a long-term electoral arrangement with the Congress, cash in on a sympathy factor with Sonia's help. According to reliable sources, Moopanar is planning to repeat the 1971 grand alliance strategy of his mentor K. Kamaraj, where Kamaraj and his bete noire Rajaji joined hands in fighting common enemy DMK. "The electoral arithmetic of the state is such that if the Congress joins hand with a regional party, the combine sweeps the polls. We want to replace the DMK or the AIADMK as the Congress' regional partner," says a TMC functionary. As for TMC cadres, they want the party to govern Tamil Nadu independently and join forces with the Congress in Delhi if Sonia becomes party chief.