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Embarrassment in Congress

By S. Nadarajan

PONDICHERRY, FEB. 4. With the Democratic Progressive Alliance earmarking the lone Lok Sabha seat in Pondicherry to the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the Congress cadres here are a disappointed lot. The Congress is also a constituent of the DPA. The Pondicherry seat is among the six constituencies allotted to the PMK.

The resignation of the former Home Minister, P. Kannan, from the party on January 26 and the quitting of two Ministers, K. Lakshminarayanan and A. Elumalai from the Rangasamy-led Ministry on January 28 put the party in an embarrassing situation.

There is a criticism that the Pradesh Congress Committee did not take efforts from the initial stages itself to ensure that the seat was earmarked to the party.

The Chief Minister is yet to take a decision on the resignation of the two Ministers. He flew to Delhi on Tuesday to meet the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, to find a way out. An official source told this correspondent that Mr. Rangasamy returned here today without meeting her. He might visit the Capital in the next few days.

Any attempt to get the Pondicherry seat back for the Congress will be futile as the decision to allot it to the PMK has been arrived at after a formal seat-sharing exercise, say observers.

While the PCC leader, V. Narayanasamy, has been telling the media that he is persuading the high command to get back the seat, the Chief Minister is in a dilemma whether to act upon the resignation letters or wait for a patch up.

When contacted, one of the resigned Ministers said a near-stalemate situation prevails.

No issue can be tackled independently as the whole scenario has become complicated.

Mr. Kannan too has not announced his future plans. The talk of the town is that Mr. Kannan will jump into fray as an independent.

With the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Bharathiya Janata combine is also gearing for the poll, a keen contest is on the cards.

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