Thirunavukkarasar is new Tamil Nadu Congress chief

As the new president of the state unit, three months after former chief EVKS Elangovan had stepped down

The Congress on Wednesday appointed S Thirunavukkarasar as the new president of Tamil Nadu unit three months after former chief EVKS Elangovan had stepped down.

AICC general secretary in charge of organisation Janardan Dwivedi issued a statement from Congress President Sonia Gandhi announcing his appointment.

The move ended months of speculation over the issue. Sources said that delay in the appointment of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief was sending out a wrong message that the Southern state was not on their radar of the AICC mandarins.

Sources said that the Congress leadership scanned several potential candidates for the post as former state unit chief Elangovan had opposed the nomination of Thirunavukkarasar, pointing out that he has had a stint with the BJP.

In2014, months after the national elections, former union minister G K Vasan had left the Congress to float his own outfit as he was miffed with the central leadership.

The party has been out of power in Tamil Nadu for over four decades as power was shared in turns by AIADMK president and incumbent Chief Minister J Jayalalithha and DMK's K Karunanidhi.

Elangovan left Congress after the party won just eight of the 41 assembly seats it contested as part of the DMK alliance.

Earlier, the Youth Congress made around 14 lakh members in the state in 2009 but the group has remained largely ineffective."Let us see what the new chief does in TN but it's like an uphill task for him", said a senior AICC functionary.