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Will TN Congress chief last till elections?

N Sathiya Moorthy in Chennai

Attempts are underway to get the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief Tindivanam K Ramamurthy replaced ahead of party elections due in three months.

Though the party seems united in its demand for a pre-poll change, there is no unanimity in the choice of Ramamurthy's successor.

"The party high command is seized of the matter and will take a decision without further loss of time," a senior party leader said.

Ironically, even as Ramamurthy celebrated his 67th birthday on Wednesday, All India Congress Committee observer P J Kurien was giving final touches to his report advising the high command to effect a change in the state leadership.

Kurien was in Chennai for a day in connection with two incidents of fisticuffs involving rival factions - first in Salem and then in Thanjavur. Ramamurthy himself was witness to the Thanjavur incident.

However, indications are that the AICC would like to wait and watch before taking a decision. One factor that decidedly goes against Ramamurthy is his party's growing ties with the Tamil Manila Congress of G K Moopanar. Though Moopanar was present at Ramamurthy's birthday celebrations at Chennai, the two don't get along very well.

"There was a time when Ramamurthy was Moopanar's right hand man in the state Congress. But this changed after Moopnar split in 1996 to set up the TMC," recalls a party leader.

Now, with AICC chief Sonia favouring a Congress-TMC merger, Ramamurthy's detractors are likely to use Moopanar as their trump card.

In this context, sources refer to a meeting some of anti-Ramamurthy faction leaders had with Moopanar over the weekend in Delhi.

The Ramamurthy camp, however, is unfazed. They claim that the Kurien visit was aimed only at inquiring into the two incidents of violence and the follow-up action taken by Ramamurthy.

There are more than one aspirant for the top post, including three former state unit chiefs - Union Minister K V Thangabalu, Kumari Anandan and the ageing M P Subramaniam. Interestingly, all three have worked for a Congress-TMC rapprochement in the last two years.

However, almost everybody in the party is convinced that the organisational elections may not take place as scheduled. "There are bound to be procedural delays," says a veteran.

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