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The Tamil Nadu Congress unit is not clear about what president Sonia Gandhi hopes to achieve by replacing E V K S Elangovan with S Balakrishnan, a loyalist of the late G K Moopanar, as state party chief.
Elangovan has been made the state unit's 'working president', which party workers believe is a demotion.
In recent months, he had created a tough image for himself by taking on Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
When Jayalalithaa launched a tirade against Sonia Gandhi, calling her a 'foreigner', Elangovan was quick to react and Congressmen across the state staged protests and courted arrest.
Though there have been working presidents in other states, it is for the first time that it is being introduced in Tamil Nadu.
Also, experience shows that the post has only led to the creation of a parallel power centre, leading to confusion and confrontation.
However, Balakrishnan's appointment is a victory for All-India Congress Committee secretary G K Vasan.
The state Congress unit had split in 1996 with G K Moopanar forming the Tamil Maanila Congress. After his death, his son G K Vasan decided that the much-weakened TMC would be better off after merging with the parent party.
By choosing Balakrishnan, a former TMC leader, to run the show in Tamil Nadu, the high command has acknowledged the importance of Vasan.
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