'I will sacrifice anything to see Moopanar returning to the Congress fold'

The friction within is there for anyone to see. But K V Thangabalu, who has just been appointed convenor of the ad hoc committee responsible for conducting Congress organisational elections in Tamil Nadu, would be the last one to admit it.

Already, Tamil Nadu Congress leaders Kumari Anandan and Vazhappadi K Ramamurthy, both members of the 21-member committee, have shot off protest telegrams to the party leadership against the former Union minister's appointment. But Thangabalu is unconcerned. ''There is no opposition, none at all," he claims.

But then, he has Congress president Sitaram Kesri's full support. Now that Kesri's hopes of dethroning Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda have suffered a major setback (thanks to P Chidambaram's populist Budget), the Congress president appears to be concentrating on the forthcoming Congress elections.

And it is here that Thangabalu comes in handy.

With membership in the All India Congress Committee allotted to each state on the basis of population, Tamil Nadu accounts for 66 members. Which, though many have not realised it, has given Thangabalu all the clout he needs.

In a freewheeling discussion -- tinged with I-will-obey-the-high-command pledges -- with N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras, Thangabalu spoke about various organisational matters, including his recent call to the Tamil Manila Congress to rejoin the Congress. Excerpts from the conversation:

Your call for the TMC to rejoin Congress came as a surprise to many...

There is nothing surprising about it. I was only repeating the high command's call. The Congress president has already brought back a number of former party leaders.

Are you looking for an electoral alliance with the TMC? How has G K Moopanar responded to your efforts?

No, I am working for a merger. I have been meeting Moopanar in Delhi frequently after the last elections. As for his response, well, he called up to congratulate me on my appointment. What else can be said now?

Your nomination coincided with Moopanar's election as the TMC president. Was that just coincidence?

You will have to ask the Congress high command.

Will you vacate the seat to accommodate Moopanar, if it came to that?

I will sacrifice anything to see the TMC returning to the Congress fold. Moopanar is a very senior leader and I have great respect for him.

There is a lot being said about Jayalalitha's congratulating you on your nomination. Does it mean that you will be working towards reviving an alliance with the AIADMK?

There is no political significance to that -- not only Jayalalitha, but others like Subramanian Swamy congratulated me. As for alliances, there are no elections round the corner now. Anyway, it is for the high command to decide. Whatever the decision is, I will abide by that.

Knowing your proximity with the AIADMK leadership, do you think the TMC cadres will accept you?

I have only followed the high command's diktat.

But you attended the controversial wedding of Jayalalitha's foster son, despite Moopanar's call against it.

It was only civil to honour an invitation from a state chief minister. Sitaram Kesri himself attended the wedding, so did Sharad Pawar.

Why are Kumari Anandan and Vazhappadi Ramamurthy opposing your appointment? Their supporters issued statements against you.

I have already met Kumari Anandan and he has promised to work with me. I will be meeting Vazhappadi on his return from Delhi. As for the statements against me, some of the signatories have already disowned it in private.

Why do you think Kumari Anandan was removed? Was it because he was a Narasimha Rao nominee?

I have absolutely no idea. You will have to ask the high command.

It is believed that your nomination has more to do with Kesri's plans for contesting the AICC presidential elections than anything else.

I do not conduct the elections. There will be a separate committee to do that. We will only be facilitating the process and, even here, there is no chance of any malpractice. All the members of the ad hoc committee will be involved in it.

There is a lot of criticism about your extending the membership campaign till March-end.

It was the decision of the high command. In any case, I am inclined to allow the maximum possible time for party sympathisers to enroll. After all, we are not conducting general elections, but organisational elections. Worker-sentiments have to be respected.

The last time, the elections were cancelled because of a large number of bogus enrollments. Party factions, including yours, had indulged in that. What measures will you adopt against such incidents?

We will have scrutiny committees to ensure that. It will not occur this time.