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Tamil Maanila Congress legislator joins Congress

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Theni C. Jayakumar likely to retain Villianor seat, which he won in the 2001 elections

Pondicherry: Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) party legislator Theni C. Jayakumar, who got elected from Villianoor constituency to the territorial Assembly in the 2001 elections, joined the ruling Congress in the presence of the PCC leader P. Shanmugham and the Chief Minister N. Rangasamy at the party office here on Monday.

Mr. Jayakumar was the TMC (Moopanar) party president, although the TMC merged with the Congress in 2001 in Tamil Nadu. Two members were elected on the TMC ticket in Pondicherry in the 2001 polls. Of them Agriculture Minister A. Namassivayam alone joined the Congress in November 2001. Mr. Jayakumar continued to be the TMC member and its president. With his joining the Congress, there is all possibility of his being fielded as the Congress candidate in Villianor, which had been assigned among the 16 constituencies to the party in the accord reached with the DMK in Chennai on Sunday.It could not be known immediately whether Mr. Jayakumar had quit the post of MLA and wound up the TMC party. Mr Shanmugham told The Hindu that Mr Jayakumar's admission into the party was done after getting the green signal from the high command.

Volunteers of the congress under the leadership of a former Health Minister from Villianoor had staged a demonstration a few days ago at the Congress office to protest against admitting Jayakumar into the party. But it was only a stray protest and Mr. Jayakumar has been accommodated now in the Congress.

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