Move to oust EVKS gathers momentum

The offensive against EVKS was launched when the Dalit wing’s state presidents met at Sathyamurthy Bhavan on Saturday. Several district SC/ST wing presidents had singularly blamed the Congress chief for the party’s rout and poor representation for Dalits in the recently concluded Assembly poll. 

They were reliably learnt to have proposed a resolution demanding Elangovan’s ouster. Courtesy incumbent state SC/ST wing president K Selvaperunthagai, a self-proclaimed supporter of Elangovan who got him the Sriperumbudur ticket, the resolution proposal merely contributed to rip-roaring pantomime at the meeting as the former upstaged the dissenters at the nick of time. 

Curiously, the push for the resolution was preceded by unsavoury name calling in the presence of Elangovan’s son Eevera who had exited from there prematurely. “Our anger is justified and our demand legitimate. If you set aside the six seats from southern districts (three from Kanniyakumari), Congress had only managed two from the rest of TN,” reasoned a district SC/ST wing president from the south who participated in the meeting. 

“Historically, Congress has been pro-Dalit. But it has been disproved now. Dalits were given least representation this time. We raked it up even before the polls, but Selvaperunthagai’s focus was only on Sriperumbudur. He should also own responsibility for letting Dalits down,” said another SC wing president from central TN requesting anonymity. Attempts to contact Selvaperunthagai, who had allegedly offered to step down, proved futile. 

However, interactions with Congress insiders suggested that Elangovan may have got it wrong in Dalit representation in this election. But blaming him for a collective failure of the party would be harsh even by Congress political standards. 

“People baying for his blood should remember that he had campaigned for the same candidates who publicly demeaned him before election. It was close in several constituencies. If Congress had managed only 8 of 41, that is all our strength,” said an Elangovan supporter from Chennai region. Not content with petitioning their national bosses, which, they believe, will not do the needful forthem in a month, the SC wing members have planned a trip to Delhi shortly, hopefully, to meet Rahul Gandhi.