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Moopanar loses out to Sonia

N Sathiya Moorthy in Nagercoil

The Tamil Maanila Congress is about to lose one of its three Lok Sabha members to its parent organisation.

N Dennis, the six-term MP from Nagercoil, proposes to join the parent Congress. "It's a historical compulsion," Dennis, elected from this Christian-dominated parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu, said.

Dennis has not come out in the open about his plans. But then, neither has he denied Congress chief Tindivanam K Ramamurthy's public declaration that he was all set to cross over. The denial, if at all, came from TMC founder G K Moopanar.

Also, many of Dennis' supporters, including former legislator A Balaiah, have already rejoined the Congress.

Dennis' plans are based purely on local issues. His group feels sidelined and neglected by the induction of rival faction leader and legislator D Kumaradoss as the TMC's Kanyakumari president. The group also says that all plum posts in the district unit have since gone to the Kumaradoss faction.

The Dennis-Kumaradoss fight dates back to the 1996 election, when the legislator sought the parliamentary ticket. With the infant party, founded on the poll-eve by splitting the Congress, deciding to nominate all sitting MPs to avoid controversy, Dennis had his way. He also pipped Kumaradoss to the post in 1998, though there was then an unwritten understanding that the pro-active legislator would be suitably rewarded.

"Dennis has run his full course, rather more than his due," says a TMC leader, once close to the MP. "The septuagenarian MP, who has been winning the seat only due to the political circumstances of the time, has now to make way for younger elements. And just as he had had the run of the district party affairs, he should now let the other group play its part."

According to this leader, Kumaradoss, though denied ticket twice, did not ever work against the party.

Local TMC sources claim that Dennis' possible exit will not affect the party unduly. "Still, the aftershocks will be felt," they concede, accepting the suggestion that the 'Congress culture' has been fast giving place to the Bharatiya Janata Party-Hindutva forces in the district.

"The elections have been won more on the communal divide than on the ideological leanings of the voters, yes," he further concedes.

Incidentally, Kumaradoss, like Dennis, is a Christian. Coming from a family of physicians -- he himself is one - he specialises in bone-setting and self-defence.

The Kanyakumari district has been a traditional Congress stronghold since the pre-Independence era. Even in the 1967 election, the party's worst, the united Congress won six of the seven assembly seats, and the lone parliamentary seat from the district. But the number has been dwindling since.

Interestingly, Kanyakumari is the only district in Tamil Nadu where the local party favoured a merger with the Congress, when Moopanar went about seeking cadre opinion after the disastrous Lok Sabha poll last year. As is known, it's only here that the entire second-line of the Congress walked into the TMC.

"That way, all our cadres will stay with us," says the TMC leader.

As much as the loss of the 'non-committal votes' that have gone to the no-nonsense, non-controversial candidacy of Dennis in the past election, the loss of one MP will affect the TMC morale and image across the state, and elsewhere too.

By walking out, Dennis will not be attracting the provisions of the anti-defection law. "But his defection by itself will attract a lot of media-hype, and will send out a message to the TMC as a whole. The message will not be from Dennis, but from the Congress high command," says a Congress leader, "Either they work with us on our terms, or we are ready to take on the TMC, as if it were any other competitor in the state."

TMC sources say that the Dennis crisis could have been avoided if Moopanar had taken greater interest in assuaging the 'hurt feelings of the sitting MP'.

"You cannot say that Moopanar did not try, but he did not try enough. And by the time he sent emissaries to talk Dennis out of his decision, it was too late," he says, "Anyway, Dennis will soon find for himself the kind of respect he commands -- or, does not command -- in the state Congress. If he says that Kumaradoss is a late entrant into the TMC, after being in the Janata Dal, he too will be a late entrant to the Congress. His exit now has made our position clear. The party can project a new candidate in the constituency from now on, and work for his success."

Dennis is said to be keen to rejoin the Congress in party president Sonia Gandhi's presence. He is said to be even more keen on not joining the Congress in front of the TNCC chief, who in turn is keen to take all credit for Dennis' decision.

Sources revealed that plans are afoot for Dennis to cross over on Tuesday, when Sonia Gandhi presents herself at Vaikkom in Kerala.

Meanwhile, TMC lost a legislator when Andi Ambalam died at his residence in Natham early Monday following a heart attack.

He was 75.

Ambalam represented -- and had been representing for the last six terms -- Natham in Dindugul district.

Additional reportage: UNI

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