Southern States - Pondicherry   

Fight between two key Congress contenders

By Radha Venkatesan

Chennai Sept. 8. With an intense tussle on among key Congress leaders in Pondicherry for the lone Rajya Sabha seat, the AICC secretary, Satyajit Gaekwad, is likely to visit the Union Territory on September 11 to choose the candidate.

"I will be in Pondicherry on September 11 to hold discussions (on finalising the candidate). The high command will announce the candidate on September 13,'' according to Mr. Gaekwad.

His task, however, is unlikely to be easy as the key contenders are two heavyweights in Pondicherry politics - V. Narayanasamy, local Congress president, and P. Kannan, who merged his regional outfit, the Puducherry Makkal Congress with the parent Congress a year ago.

While Mr. Narayanasamy is seeking a third term in the Rajya Sabha, for Mr. Kannan it will be a maiden attempt at entering the Upper House. The two leaders were in Delhi a week ago lobbying with emotional claims to push their case.

For Mr. Narayanasamy, though he has already had two stints in the House of Elders, he lost the battle to the DMK in 1997 by a mere three votes.

As for Mr. Kannan, his bargaining point is that he merged his outfit and pitchforked the minority Congress Government into a one of comfortable majority. In the 30-member legislature, the Congress, which won only 11 seats in the 2001 Assembly elections, increased its strength by another 4 with the merger of the Makkal Congress. Besides, with the Tamil Maanila Congress too rejoining, the Congress strength in the House crossed the half-way mark and touched 16.

This apart, a breakaway Tamil Maanila Congress MLA, Theni Jayakumar and two Independents, are backing the Government.

Indications are that the Congress candidate will get elected without a fight as no other party has adequate numbers. The DMK has only seven members and the AIADMK just two in the Assembly.

As a senior Congress leader sums it up, "it is a fight only among the Congressmen".

Apart from Mr. Kannan and Mr. Narayanasamy, two former Ministers — C. Gandhirajan and Kandasamy — have plunged into the race. Reports have it that the Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy, is backing Mr. Kandasamy, a Dalit. However, both lost the Assembly elections in 2001, which fact could prove a disqualifier.

With just three days left for the start of filing of nominations on September 11, the party is gearing for a trial of strength between Mr. Kannan and Mr. Narayanasamy. Both of them are lining up the support of MLAs and senior party functionaries. Indications are that in the numbers game, Mr. Kannan may pull it off.

Meanwhile, the two contenders are singing the same tune: "The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, will decide and we will abide by it."

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