Chennai

A statement from AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said, “Congress president Sonia Gandhi approved the name of Su Thirunavukkarasar as the president of the Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect.” AICC secretary in-charge of Telangana and cadre’s favourite for the post, an ‘accommodative’ Thirunavukkarsar, as he is described by many party men, would be charting the party’s course ahead of a crucial local body election. 

A former Rajya Sabha member and BJP secretary, Thirunavukkarasar has also had a good run in the AIADMK, and that too during the reigns of both MGR and J Jayalalithaa. His appointment has silenced those Congressmen, especially TNCC chief aspirants, who had vainly hoped that his stint in the BJP would be his undoing. In an electorally weak TNCC fraught with internal bickering, Thirunavukkasar’s vast political experience (cabinet minister even in MGR’s cabinet and deputy speaker in his mid-20s) and easy-going nature would definitely come in handy. 

The seasoned politician would be put to test less than a month in the office of TNCC chief as he would be holding seat-sharing negotiations with ally DMK, if the latter chooses to accommodate Congress for the civic polls, and his own colleagues who vie with each other for seats during elections. 

Shortly after his appointment, Thirunavukkarsar told media persons here that he would consult all party leaders on the Cauvery issue and civic polls. 

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