THOSE who had written off the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) floated by former AICC General Secretary G.K. Moopanar as a party without any long-term political agenda have been proved wrong. Not only is Moopanar and his band growing in strength but they have also set sights on filling the vacuum created by the marginalisation of the AIADMK following its poll debacle. The TMC may be only four months old but it put up an impressive show of strength at its July 14-15 conference in Trichi.
The message was clear: the TMC is a regional force like the DMK and has the interests of Tamils in mind. And that those disillusioned with the Congress and the AIADMK would do well to join the new party.
Even more interestingly, though the TMC remains an ally of the DMK and shares power with the oldest Dravidian party in New Delhi as part of the United Front, it made its position very clear at the Trichy jamboree that it would stake a claim to form the government in Tamil Nadu in the next assembly elections. It is now clear that the party leadership wants to chart its own course and may, in years to come, become a rival to the DMK. Though TMC leaders don't speak of this, they maintain that their aim is to bring to Tamil Nadu the honesty in governance as symbolised by Kamaraj. Says Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, S.R. Balasubramaniam: "Establishing Kamaraj's rule is the desire of our cadres."
In his Trichy speech, Moopanar called upon partymen to resolve to achieveKamaraj's rule. While the DMK is understandably upset about the development whereby its new-found friend is fast turning out to be a potential rival, the AIADMK and the MDMK are at a loss to regain the political space that is being rapidly colonised by the TMC. What is working to Moopanar's advantage is that his party is increasingly being seen as far removed from political parties in north India. In Tamil Nadu, the TMC is often referred to as the Tamil Congress of Moopanar, which is seen in a different light from the Congress of Narasimha Rao.
In his inaugural address, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram spoke at length about the role the TMC hopes to play in Tamil politics. Said he: "A political vacuum has been created in the state over the last three decades since the exit of the last Congress government. The widening of this political space led to the growth of Dravidian parties which failed to fill the space despite discarding their demand for a separate state and modifying their rationalist ideals." According to insiders, though Chidambaram chose to describe his party as merely filling the void left by the Congress, he was actually referring to the void created by the decline of the AIADMK.
Moopanar, while maintaining that his party is the real Congress, was not willing to accommodate other Congress leaders into the fold: "I believe in democracy. But I also believe in discipline and in matters of discipline, I am an autocrat. Will they accept that?" As for vitalising the TMC, he wants to hold organisational polls before September.
But others are not particularly keen that the party be identified as the real Congress as they feel that the TMC has a wider appeal—much more than the Congress could ever manage. Says Balasubramaniam: "The fact that we are a state party should dispel the fears that we may not articulate the regional interests of the state. Our new identity as a regional party with a truly national outlook should win us the support of the people who believe in the regional leadership as well as those who trust only the national parties. "
The TMC has certainly come into Tamil politics at the most appropriate time. In its silver jubilee year, the AIADMK is on the verge of political obliteration and the fledgling TMC is wooing all erstwhile MGR and Kamaraj followers to its fold. One aspect that goes in the TMC's favour is the presence of youth among its cadres. The party enjoys the ambivalent support of actor Rajnikant.
With the way things are going, the honeymoon between the DMK and TMC may see some bitter scenes during the polls to local bodies when both parties contest against each other. While the TMC is not likely to withdraw its support to the DMK Government till the next assembly polls, the sudden growth of the TMC does not augur well for the AIADMK and may prove to be competition for the DMK.
