Tamil Maanila Congress will function independently until local bodies elections: G.K. Vasan

The Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) will function independent of any alliance until the local bodies elections in Tamil Nadu, its leader G. K. Vasan has said. However, going forward, it will continue to work closely with the Indian National Congress, he told The Hindu 360, the Tamil YouTube channel of The Hindu, in an interview.

“A month after the Assembly election [this year], the executive committee of the TMC met. Several functionaries pointed out that we have consistently remained part of one alliance or another and emphasised that the party could only be strengthened when there are no elections by functioning independently without being tied to any alliance. Consequently, we resolved that if the TMC is to establish a robust foundation in the coming local bodies elections, we must operate distinctively on our own strength,” Mr. Vasan said.

“However, we have not decided to contest elections without any alliance. We have only decided to function independently until the elections,” he added.

‘TVK-led govt. performing commendably’

According to Mr. Vasan, the TVK-led government is performing commendably. “They are functioning with the intent of delivering honest governance. Naming the breakfast scheme after Kamarajar is commendable. When such governance is initiated, members of our party feel that parties like the TMC should extend their support,” he remarked.

After parting ways with the Congress in 2014 to revive the TMC(M), Mr. Vasan contested in the 2016 Assembly election with the People’s Welfare Front. In the subsequent elections, his party remained in the alliance in which the BJP was a part.

However, going forward, the party will work in tandem with the Indian National Congress, he said. “When we were part of the BJP-led alliance, there was a distance between us and the Congress. Now, I am no longer in the BJP-led alliance. On the 25th death anniversary of G.K. Moopanar, the State president and senior leaders of the Congress visited [the memorial] and paid their respects. Ever since, I have remained in touch with the Congress. At the national level, we will henceforth work together with the Congress. Asking whether our party will merge with the Congress in the future is like asking whether the CPI and the CPI(M) will merge one day. It is not possible to answer that question right now,” Mr. Vasan said.