Rival groups receiving applications in Tiruchi

By S. Ganesan

TIRUCHI, SEPT. 15. The factional feud plaguing the district Congress unit came out in the open here today as a ``rival group'' started collecting applications from ticket-seekers for the local bodies elections separately.

While the District Congress Committee, headed by Mr. G. Jerome Arockiaraj, urban district president, and Mr. S. Chellappan, rural district president, commenced the process yesterday, confusion prevailed here as supporters of the former MP, Mr. L. Adaikalaraj, a staunch opponent of the TNCC president, Mr. E.V.K.S. Elangovan, started collecting applications from partymen today.

Taken by surprise, the DCC office-bearers extended the exercise of collecting applications by a day today to prevent ``unwary partymen'' flocking to the rival group. The DCC office-bearers were scheduled to complete the exercise on Friday itself. The DCC has also taken up the matter with the TNCC and AICC leadership.

Denouncing the move by the rival group as ``totally unauthorised,'' Mr. Arockiaraj said he had requested the police to ensure that the rival group did not collected money by misusing the party's name. However, the dissidents maintained that they were not collecting any fee and that the applications were received only in plain paper.

Denying that he was promoting groupism, Mr. Adaikalaraj said he was not involved in collecting the applications directly. These were collected by Mr. R. Rajagopal and Mr. C. Tamilarasan, who were the ``elected and AICC approved'' urban and rural district presidents. The nomination of the new DCC office-bearers by Mr. Elangovan had not been approved by the AICC so far, he maintained.

Claiming that they had received over 500 applications till this afternoon, Mr. Adaikalaraj said these would be forwarded to the committee to be formed by the AICC to oversee the preparations for the elections. ``The committee will consider the applications and finalise the candidates.

However, Mr. Arockiaraj said the committee would be involved only in holding talks with alliance partners for finalising the seat- sharing arrangements. The TNCC had deputed Mr. K. Siranjeevi, former State president of the student wing, as an observer to oversee collection of the applications in Tiruchi. Mr. Siranjeevi would submit the applications to Mr. Elangovan, he said. The DCC had received about 350 applications during the last two days.

Mr. Siranjeevi, when contacted, said he would recommend action against the ``dissidents,'' who had been collecting applications without authorisation by the leadership.

The groupism has assumed strong overtones of family rivalry as Mr. Arockiaraj is the son of Mr. L. Gnanaraj, brother of Mr. Adaikalaraj. Yet another sibling of Mr. Adaikalaraj, the Mayor (in-charge), Mrs. Emily Richard, has thrown her lot with the ``dissidents'' and is among those who submitted an application to the rival group seeking ticket for Mayor in Tiruchi today.

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