Power 'struggle' in TN Congress: Shri Karti P.Chidambaram

11th April 2010 - Indian Express (Press Release)

The Congress is striving for a revival in Tamil Nadu, but on the flip side the battle for control of its local unit is hotting up even as the mantle has passed to the younger leaders.    The latest piece of evidence comes from Delhi, where young Union Minister for Shipping G K Vasan has of late been wanting to quit his plum portfolio and return to take charge of state party affairs.    The non-progress on the Sethusamudram project is touted as a factor, but Vasan's actions seem to have as much to do with the jockeying for control in the state unit. Vasan is one of the big stakeholders in local party affairs and is fighting for domination in the assembly/parliamentary-level Youth Congress elections there. And at Sunday's Youth Congress state officers-bearers elections.    One reason for Vasan's desire to leave Delhi is said to be the emergence of stiff competition on his home ground. With K V Thangkabalu staying only as a last remnant of the old guard, one of those mounting a challenge to Vasan's hold on the party unit is Karti P Chidambaram, the Union home minister's son. The feud between the two camps has been making headlines recently, with accusations of "subterfuge" and "negative PR campaigns" flying around. The Karti camp says Vasan is nervous at the presence of a young leader fluent in English, who might overshadow him in the eyes of Rahul Gandhi, and accuses him of unleashing a media blitz to confuse the issue.  The emergence of Karti is something even a section of the party in Delhi is not especially comfortable with, and it is closing ranks with the Vasan camp. But the immediate stakes are laid out not in the national capital but Tamil Nadu.    The party's revival plans come at a time when state politics finds itself at a crossroads. The ruling DMK, with 99 seats in a 235-strong House, depends on the Congress's 36 MLAs for a simple majority. Moreover, the DMK is in the throes of a difficult, conflict ridden generational change, and the Congress sees political space opening up in the post-Karunanidhi era.