Elangovan resigns as Tamil Nadu Congress chief

The faction-ridden Congress party in the state had been witnessing steady revolt against Elangovan, against whom several complaints were made to the party leadership.

Accepting moral responsibility for the Congress’s defeat in the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, state unit chief EVKS Elangovan resigned from the post on Saturday.

AIADMK supporters protest against Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president EVKS Elangovan, who resigned from his post of state Congress chief, on Saturday. (PTI Photo)

He reportedly sent his resignation letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The faction-ridden Congress party in the state had been witnessing steady revolt against Elangovan, against whom several complaints were made to the party leadership.

The main allegations were that he had ignored the followers of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram during ticket distribution, as also in the affairs of the state government.

Elangovan was unavailable for comment.

It was under his leadership that the Congress fought the assembly elections in the state in alliance with the DMK. Despite DMK’s good show, however, the Congress could not give a good account of itself at the hustings. It could win only eight out of the 41 seats it contested.

Several senior leaders of the Congress, including three of its past state unit presidents, had petitioned Sonia Gandhi against Elangovan, that he was ignoring state leaders and was unable to win the support of the people because of his behaviour.

The Congress high command had, at the time, preferred to continue with Elangovan, who was appointed in 2014 and was vary of changing the leader just before the assembly elections.

The party’s poor showing in the polls has come in handy for his detractors to mount pressure against him.