TMC meet to focus on Assembly polls

CHENNAI, DEC 4: The two-day session of the office-bearers and the extended executive of the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), scheduled to meet on December 4 and 5 at Satyamurthy Bhavan in Chennai, will opt for an in-depth discussion on the strength and weakness of the party organisation, especially in the rural segments.

Though the party did not fare well in the September 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the collective effort and energy of the party would be focussed on the future. The emphasis will be on emerging as a force that can challenge the Dravidian supremacy that had held sway in the political equations of Tamil Nadu since 1967, party sources said. The focus is on the Assembly elections in the state in 2001.

The outcome of the deliberations of the December 5 extended executive is expected to ensure that the party is not mired in a `defeatist syndrome’. There is no point in wasting time and energy in looking back but if the party outlook has to be redefined, tempered by future potential and promises, a revamp of the party organisation would be inevitable, sources said.

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The office-bearers meeting will prepare the framework for such organisational restructuring, keeping in mind the political ground realities in the districts.

The executive session will decide on the modalities that can help the party play its role as a distinct Opposition party.