Congress fields former party state chief Elangovan in Erode (east) by-polls

Former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief E V K S Elangovan was on Sunday declared as the party’s candidate for the February 27 by-polls to Erode (east) constituency which was necessitated due to the death of his son and incumbent MLA Thirumahan Evera.

74-year-old Elangovan’s candidature comes as a surprise as the announcement comes a day after the two-time state Congress chief ruled himself out of the fray, saying he has requested the High Command to allot the seat for his younger son, Sanjay Sampath.

“The Congress President, Shri. Mallikarjun Kharge, has approved the candidature of Shri E V K S Elangovan as the Congress candidate for the ensuing bye-election to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu from 98- Erode (East) constituency,” Mukul Wasnik, in-charge of Congress’ Central Election Committee, said in a statement.

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Sources said the party zeroed-in on Elangovan, grandnephew of legendary social reformer E V R Periyar, as the candidate to prevent a rebellion from the Erode district unit which opposed fielding Sanjay Sampath, saying he is not familiar even with party cadres, and cash in on the sympathy factor.

Erode district Congress chief Makkal Rajan had on Sunday afternoon threw his hat in the electoral ring demanding that a “hard worker” like him should be rewarded with a chance to contest.

The sources also added that DMK chief and Chief Minister M K Stalin was also keen from the beginning that Elangovan should contest the seat that has fallen vacant due to his son’s sudden death. The by-election is the first major popularity test for the 20-month old Stalin government.

Interestingly, the Congress’ announcement came hours after Stalin drove to Elangovan’s residence in Chennai.

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“It was felt by the party and allies that Elangovan was best suited as candidate considering the current political situation. The district unit cannot raise any questions over his candidature not just because he headed the TNCC twice but also because he has been a Congress loyalist throughout his political career,” a senior TNCC leader told DH.

Congress in-charge of Tamil Nadu Dinesh Gundu Rao expressed the hope that Elangovan will emerge victorious. His colleague and Sivaganga MP Karti P Chidambaram too tweeted welcoming Elangovan’s candidature.

“While I fully understand the circumstances under which the EVKS family will be taking up election on behalf of @INCIndia. The Tamil Nadu assembly will be greatly enriched by @EVKSElangovan. The entire @INCTamilNadu is united with EVKS,” Karti wrote.

The by-election is likely to be a multi-cornered with the AIADMK, its expelled leader O Panneerselvam, and rebel T T V Dhinakaran deciding to field their own candidates. The BJP is still undecided on its stand.

The biggest challenge before the AIADMK is to get the Two Leaves symbol for its candidate as records with the Election Commission of India (ECI) still mention O Panneerselvam as coordinator and Palaniswami as joint coordinator, though the GC appointed the latter as the party’s interim head and expelled the former from the party.

Political observers say unless the two sign the B-form, the AIADMK nominee will not be allotted the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol and that the likelihood of Palaniswami allowing Panneerselvam to affix his signature was impossible as it would water down his fight for the party’s control. They also said if OPS also claims the symbol, the matter will reach the ECI eventually leading to it being frozen.