Strengthen party for polls: Elangovan

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JAN. 9. With the threat to his leadership over for now, the renominated TNCC(I) president, Mr. E. V. K. S. Elangovan today declared that he would strive to ``take the party to a respectable position'' in the coming Assembly elections.

``All true Congress men, sinking their differences, should cooperate to strengthen the party for the coming Assembly elections,'' he appealed, at a media meet here, following his reappointment as the TNCC(I) chief.

Mr. Elangovan who replaced Mr. Tindivanam Ramamurthy as the TNCC(I) president in May this year, faced a fierce demand from the dissidents for his ouster less than two months after his appointment.

``We wasted away the past one and half months in the party elections. As the phase of uncertainty is over now, the next few months we have to strengthen the party for the Assembly elections,'' Mr. Elangovan said.

The state Congress(I) would send a list of ``winnable Assembly constituencies'' to the party high command.

Also, the ``list of omissions and commissions'' of the DMK government had been prepared for highlighting in the election campaign.

As for the dissidents' charge that he had prepared a ``one-sided list of the PCC(I) members'', Mr. Elangovan said the party high command had given a ``suitable reply'' to such ``false charges'' by renominating him.

Reacting to the CPI leader, Mr. A. B. Bardhan's comment that the Congress(I) was only a minor player in Tamil Nadu, the TNCC(I) chief said, ``it is an unnecessary statement, considering the strength of the left parties in Tamil Nadu. But I don't want to join issue with such a senior leader.''

To a query, he said he would not contest the coming Assembly elections as he wished to campaign for the victory of the party candidates.

The jubilant supporters of Mr. Elangovan descended on the party office and celebrated his reappointment, bursting crackers and distributing sweets.

A group of former MLAs, including Mr. U. Balaraman and S.C.Swaminathan, sent a letter to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi thanking her for retaining Mr. Elangovan, obviously to counter dissidents' demand for a review of the decision.

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Section  : Southern States
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