CHENNAI: Senior Congress leader EVKS Elangovan and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president KV Thangkabalu have begun campaigning together for the civic elections, forgetting a bitter past. On Monday, the top Congress leaders campaigned together at Tirumangalam here besides other locations. This is very special because of a sour relationship between them in the past.It is no secret that they are poles apart on political issues. While the former was a vocal critic of the previous DMK regime, the latter was not so. The bitterness between them peaked on Elangovan’s non-inclusion in the panel constituted by the All India Congress Committee to hold seat-sharing talks with the DMK in the assembly polls. On February 10, his supporters staged a huge protest and a hunger strike at Satyamurthi Bhavan against Elangovan’s non-inclusion. Addressing his supporters, Elangovan said Congress general secretary Gulam Nabi Azad assured him that he would be in the poll panel. But, his name did not figure in it. “I was told that Thangkabalu had opposed my inclusion. His presence is bad for the party’s growth in TN,” he said.On February 11, Thangkabalu told Express that it was the prerogative of the Congress president to include or exclude any name. “Nobody in the State or Centre could question the decision of the Congress president. If Madam Gandhi decides, they have to obey. If they don’t, there is no place for them in the party.” Asked on the truce with Thangkabalu, Elangovan said: “Nothing is going to happen by talking about the past. We are working together to ensure the victory of the Congress. For me, protecting party interests is supreme.”
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